When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains
by GrayPony
Summary: ...however improbable, must be the truth This fic is mainly inspired by the scene from 3x24 where Lucifer folds away his wings after they got shot. Also I think that Chloe is good at compartmentalization. She will deal with the situation first and the full extend of the revelation later. Also I wrote how Dan and Ella will find out and how Lucifer manages to deal with his injuries.
1. Aftermath

He didn't realize his face had changed.

At first, Chloe could do nothing but stare. It was all so clear now. Her mind was reeling and she teetered between pure shock and a strange sense of elation. In her racing mind, all the little or not so little clues were flitting by in a blur. She realized that everything had been clear all the time, she just didn't want to accept the truth. Now she was staring it in the face. Literally.

They were standing in the middle of the debris, the chaos. The floor covered in dust, unidentifiable shards of whatever and bloody feathers and she realized he didn't know how he looked right now. While at the first moment she had been torn between a sense of clarity and realization on the one side and absolute terror on the other, now, while confronted with his burned and monstrous face, absolutely unfitting with his puzzled and almost shy expression combined with the realization, her analytic mind took over and the feeling of shock shrunk back into a dark corner of her mind, unable to deal with the full extent of this revelation right now she just pushed emotions aside and went into detective mode.

His behaviour, his demeanour. His attitude. The strange happenings around him over and over again.

Her mind connected the dots, her thoughts racing through all the clues she just didn't want to accept before, now falling into place, stringing together like pearls on a bracelet. She laughed and it earned herself an even more puzzled look from her partner.

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. No shit Sherlock, what a great detective she was, but seriously; the devil? Who could have accepted that one to be true?

He was the devil.

Well, in retrospect, regarding that he was Satan impersonated, he actually was a much more decent guy than she had thought him to be when she thought he was human. And maybe, just maybe, she was the one with the unreasonable demands, considering... she shook her head to break that train of thoughts. She had to focus now.

She shook her head again and moved closer

"Will that stay that way now?" she asked.

His puzzled look changed to pure shock when his hands moved to his face. He turned and winced as if she had hit him. Recognizing his retreat she closed the last distance between them and grabbed his arm to stop him from fleeing the scene.

"Don't you dare running away again!" she shouted, the last tentative fear dissipating in anger like morning fog on a sunny day "I've waited long enough for you to make sense and now, finally, when I get to see you, you won't just run again!"

She was shaking now. Lucifer looked at her with pure surprise. "I'd guess now that you finally see the truth, you might want some space. Usually, people tend to get away as fast as possible after they see my inner monster." He deadpanned. He might even have fooled her if his voice hadn't quivered that tiny bit at the end.

"Well, that might be the reasonable thing to do." Chloe replied, realizing just how true it was exactly the moment she was speaking, "I must admit, it was not exactly what I expected. But it's not as if there hadn't been clues huh?"

"Detective, I've never lied to you…" he started but Chloe interrupted him: "But not telling a lie and being honest are two different things!" she cried. You knew I didn't believe you! You knew!" the last part she almost screamed, her uneasiness and initial shock completely drowned in a sudden, hot surging rage. "You let me believe you where delusional! You didn't…"

Now it was Lucifer's part to interrupt:

"I didn't WHAT?" he exclaimed, his eyes burning, "I tried to show you! I tried again and again! The last time I tried it just didn't work! I never pretended I was human! I never hid my powers! Hell, I even let you shoot me! How was I supposed to know…" he stopped and his face became calm all of a sudden, "how should I have known the effect you'd have on me. That you make me so… that you make me so…" he hesitated and looked into her eyes.

The burned facade was melting away and revealed his usually handsome face again. He gasped and started to talk several times but it seemed he could not bring himself to voice what was on his mind. The sadness in his eyes reaching deeper into her very soul than his devilface ever could. She just watched him, kept her face as expressionless as possible. She barely dared to breathe. She got the impression the wrong reaction, maybe even any reaction might scare him away in an instant.

"That you make me so vulnerable." He forced out at least and looked at her with resignation in his eyes.

She just stood there. It was clear to her that he didn't just talk about physical harm. His eyes were almost bleeding his vulnerability, his soreness. He looked so fragile right now, so confused and lost.

So Lucifer.

It felt like an eternity, the two of them being twin stars in a system, circling each other for aeons, now suddenly close to colliding.

All of a sudden he winced and folded over. A deep painful moan escaped him. Instinctively she tried to catch him but he shied back, holding up his hand to keep her at bay. A barely suppressed scream escaped his throat when he bowed down quivering, throwing his arms around himself as if to hold his body together, his hands almost clawing, reaching for his back.

"Lucifer! What…" Chloe reached for him but didn't dare come closer.

He cried out again and couldn't hold it back any longer. The pain searing through his folded wings became unbearable. It had been excruciating to fold them away at the beginning but his anger had helped. Slowly calming down somewhat and no longer as distracted by his rage he could feel every bullet still stuck in them, burning even more in the divine realm than in the world the bullets belonged to. He desperately tried to hold them in, force them back and keep his composure but it just hurt hurt hurt so much. Finally, despite his efforts, they simply burst out of his back.

Since it was not a willing, reflexive or natural unfolding they ripped into reality just erupting from his bare skin, shredding his shirt and jacked in the process. The sharp edges scraped the marble statues and the tiled floor leaving scratches on the surface. He fell to his knees and panted, holding them up and away, the pain subsided a little while still pulsing through his injured wings. The shreds of his ripped clothes hung from his neck and shoulders like rags.

He looked up and saw Chloe staring at him again. Her face just unreadable. He couldn't believe she didn't run already. But on the other hand, he had suspected that deep down she had already suspected. He had hoped so at least. He didn't allow himself to be completely at ease, it might as well be the shock. He knew her focus, how she was able to push away anything she didn't need and focus at the moment. The rejection might still come later but for now, he was happy she didn't react too badly the first moment.

She started breathing again while shaking her head, "This is…. Wings!" she rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated laugh, "There is no end, isthere?" she asked. She looked down again, her eyes drifting over the mess at the floor, the debris, the bloody feathers, when she looked up at him again she had worry written all over her face. "This is how you protected us, isn't it? You shielded us with your wings. Then you got me to the roof so….." She blinked in realization and looked sharply at him. "It is my fault, is it? I make you vulnerable! You got me away to protect me so you could fight them, but when I was close they could…. Oh, Lucifer I am so sorry!" She came even closer again, her eyes wide and teary.

He could do nothing but smile at her.

"No Chloe," he replied a warm feeling soaring deep inside his heart while he felt warmth creeping up on him in a way he had never felt before. "It's not you or anything you do what makes me vulnerable. At least not in a way you could control. It's me and what you are to me that does the trick. But I wouldn't change a thing."

He winced again and shifted his wings, trying to get them in a more comfortable position. He tried to say more but were interrupted by the sound of sirens coming close.

Backup. Great. Just when nobody needs it anymore.

Chloe broke the eye contact, frantically looking around.

"Lucifer we have no time! This is not the best moment to show around your angelical side OR the other! Can't you hide them away again?" she asked.

"I'm afraid that's not up to me," he replied, "I didn't want them to show up just now. But the bullets are still stuck and it seems celestial realms and earthly bullets don't match that well."

He winced again and spread them. It was painful as hell but bearable even if only barely so. It was a miracle that none of the bullets seemed to have hit anything important or he wouldn't be able to move them at all.

"I'm sorry, detective but I'm afraid I have to leave if you don't want to expose your colleagues to a reality they might not be ready to face just now," he remarked.

His wings felt like lead but it would have to do, he flapped them tentatively and it seemed it could work. Chloe stared at him, then she seemed to shake herself. She stepped back a bit and rubbed her forehead in exasperation.

"Yeah," she started, "yeah I think that won't do at all. You go." He shifted and she reacted instantly, looking back at him and straightened her posture to something more firm and determined. "We will talk! You don't run will you?"

"Only to LUX I assure you." He allowed himself a small smile. "I'll be there whenever you wish to see me again."

"Might take a while to sort this mess out," she replied, "I might also need a bit of time to process but I promise," she emphasised the last word as if she knew how his heart hat skipped a beat by her remark, "I promise I'll come for you!"

He smiled gently at her a little hope tugging at his heart. "And I'll be waiting, Detective."

The sirens became louder by the minute, he braced himself and with all his strength he managed to beat his wings and lift himself up. He knew it would be hard but he could reach LUX, probably not much more but that he would manage. He let himself fall back again and then he jumped like a cat, beating his wings as hard as he could to skyrocket up and gain as much momentum as possible, speed being the only disguise he had while flying in broad daylight. It was torture but he went on high speed, his iron will propelling him forward even faster with every wave of pain burning through his body.

He laughed to himself, at least his stubbornness had always been a contributing factor in all parts of his life. Now it was his best resource again.


	2. Punishment Protection Equilibrium

Punishment. Protection. Equilibrium.**  
**

Dan was pacing to and fro through the penthouse. He had called his colleagues and managed to get them to send backup at last but he itched to get to the scene himself. Not knowing what happened was killing him but he wouldn't be able to get there in time and so he hoped desperately for a call.

Ella was not much help calming down his nerves either. She was almost bursting with nervous energy. She had 'activated' one of her contacts to get something on the guy in the adjacent room so they could bring him in but the suspense was killing them and there was no answer so far.

When the phone finally rang he jumped and nearly threw it on the floor. It was Chloe. The detective finally managed to accept the call with shaking hands.

"Chloe? Wha-" he got out before she interrupted him:

"Dan shut up for now and just listen to me!" Chloe's voice sounded shrilly through the phone. "You need to take Ella and this piece of shit you got there and get out of the penthouse immediately!"

Dan was baffled, "Chloe, you're not making sense, what…" again he was interrupted, his ex-wife was more upset than he had ever heard her, and considering their past, this was saying something.

"Dan! Just this once you need to trust me! Please! Get out there as fast as you can! Go to the garage and let the bouncer help you if you must. Right now they should be coming in to prepare for the shift at LUX later. Tell them that Lucifer wants the club closed tonight! Don't let anybody get up there! I'll call again as soon as I can but for now, I have to sort through this mess here and I need you to focus and simply have my back on this!"

Dan sighed. "Ok Chloe, but please tell me you're fine, you're not going in without backup! You're not doing something stupid!"

He stopped and listened to her heavy breathing. "Chloe?" He inquired and looked down to Ella in front of him who seemed to be exactly as puzzled and anxious as he felt.

"It's ok I'm fine, really!" she responded finally, "it's all over already, backup just arrived. They're coming in now. Is Ella listening?" He pressed the speaker "now she is" he said.

"Ella I need you to get back to the precinct and grab your stuff. You have to be the leading tech on the scene! Please hurry! It has to be you! I'll explain later but go! Take a car from the garage, Lucifer won't mind, it's for him too! But hurry up! And both of you…" she sounded truly desperate now, "please get out of that penthouse RIGHT NOW!"

"Oh… Chloe, what" Ella gasped out, but was also interrupted: "Please no discussion!" there was panic in Chloe's voice now and they both felt a sudden surge of dread and premonition, "just go now! If my say so counts for anything with you two, please, just leave now!"

"OK," they exclaimed almost the same time which caused them to look at each other, Dan was the one who went on: "Ok, we're going! I hope you'll explain though."

With that, he ended the call and went over to the next room grabbing the guy who had started this mess while Ella was tagging along. They barely entered the elevator when she was starting all over:

"Dan, what are we doing here? What did Chloe say? How are they? How's Lucifer?" She looked worried and Dan hadn't much to take off her edge. All the time the thug was smiling silently as if he knew something they didn't know but none of them cared.

"I don't know," Dan sighed after a pause, "Chloe wouldn't say. She only said they were fine and that it was over…" he stopped suddenly. She hadn't said that, had she? She had said she was fine but hadn't breathed a word about Lucifer. He glanced over to Ella and she looked so exasperated that he didn't dare to voice his doubts.

Soon the elevator dinged and they were in the basement garage. Although the club would not open for some hours, true to Chloe's word the prep staff of LUX was already gathering to clean and fill up what's needed for today. He spotted a familiar face: Rico the Bartender and new custodian of LUX who took over after Maze had left. He strolled over to where he was talking to a bouncer and other staff preparing for the early starting shifts.

"Hey Rico," Dan exclaimed while he retrieved his badge but not showing it yet, "There's been a problem downtown. We have been requested to tell you that LUX should stay closed tonight. Ella has also agreed to bring Lucifer one of his cars." He laughed and activated every improv-skill he might ever have had to downplay his rising uneasiness, "To be truthful she more begged to do it and he granted her the favour." He looked at Ella who reacted quickly and produced a cheery smile while appearing to bounce in excitement at the prospect driving one of the expensive cars.

Rico all but rolled his eyes. "So private party it is again then, huh? I'll tell the others. Ella, you go and grab whatever he told you to. Who's that?"

Ella nodded as she'd promised she hurried to get into the closest car available and rush to the station without looking back. She left Dan to deal with the rest, her face falling into a determined and worried expression as soon as she turned.

Dan left her be and talked to Rico again to distract him from his retreating colleague and friend. This was going much easier as it should. What was Lucifer doing here that none of his staff was surprised by such sudden changes provided by almost strangers without a hitch? This no-questions policy sure came in handy right now but if that's not shady the detective couldn't imagine what was. But there was no time for that now. Instead, he replied back to the last question he was asked.

"He's a suspect but there's a situation at the station so I could use some help to keep him under lock and key till the colleagues come and take us." He had felt extremely anxious all the time, the lack of any mention concerning Lucifer's welfare during the call nagging at his mind. Chloe had acted so strangely.

Rico simply nodded and winked over the bouncer he had talked to earlier and who was also boss of house security. He instructed the man without hesitation and a lack of questions which would have been disturbing if Dan hadn't been so worried. He barely looked up when the other man grabbed the culprit to stash him god knows where. The asshole had been very important to him only a short time ago but now there were different thoughts on his mind. All he wanted right now was to get back up and think it through while finding out what was going on here.

When Rico turned back to him he managed a smile; "I'm going back and wait for Lucifer," he said, "I suppose I'll get to know what all of this is about soon."

Rico only sneered and turned to dismiss the unnecessary staff. They didn't look very surprised or even upset. Probably they already were used to their employer's strange behaviour. While Dan walked through the people he caught snippets of their dialogues. It seemed that they would get a paid day off. That explained the calm at least.

He all but jumped into the elevator and pressed the button for the penthouse. He had a sinister feel of doom. Something was truly wrong. Chloe hadn't mentioned Lucifer aside from what he would allow or not. She didn't speak as if he were anywhere close or could listen to what she said. She said 'Lucifer wouldn't mind' not that he doesn't mind. And why did she want the penthouse AND the bar empty? Besides, how could everything be over already? There had only been the two of them. He couldn't imagine Pierce had come alone to set a trap. Had the lieutenant done something shady? Had Lucifer cut any kind of deal with the man and now they were on their way here to settle the deal? He had known that Pierce was the Sinnerman without telling anybody so that could make sense but why would Chloe help them with something like that? Maybe Lucifer had done something shady. Or they could have been caught and Pierce was blackmailing them? So many opportunities, but without further information, Dan was none the wiser.

Dan's thoughts were racing when he reached the penthouse. He looked around and found a good place to hide aside some of the draperies so he could watch the room and the elevator without being seen at first sight or obscuring his field of fire. The sun was shining golden and he glanced at the balcony.

This view definitely was something but soon he turned around to watch the elevator again instead. Was there a sound? A whooshing, ruffling sound in the air? He couldn't make it out clearly but eventually dismissed it. This wasn't important, whoever wanted in here had to use the elevator. Just in case Dan unholstered his gun and took a stance with the weapon cast slightly down but ready for everything. Better be prepared.

The next moment the world seemed to explode.

The swooshing sound grew louder within seconds till all of a sudden something big broke through the balcony doors and crashed onto the polished floor, its strong momentum driving it forward still, destroying furniture and whatever else was in its way. Dan ducked and stumbled backwards, thinking at first the penthouse had been attacked by a weapon like a bomb or even a small aircraft. Then he could do nothing but stare. His brain simply denied what he saw, basically didn't accept the information his eyes tried to submit to his reeling mind.

It was … a person? A moaning writhing person on the floor, and it had wings. Giant, bloody wings, broken feathers sticking out in all directions.

The impossible creature was moaning again, weakly pushing itself up and crawling the last small distance to the elevator. Before Dan could react and pull himself out of his stupor it had reached up opened the control panel and pushed some buttons, effectively activating a lock the stunned detective hadn't even known existed till the controls gave a buzzing sound and the low light behind the panel turned to red, blocking the only way out he knew of.

Before he could freak out the creature broke down with a cry. Dan felt some relief seeing this thing so weak and obviously vulnerable. Still, he was shaking. What was that? 'You know WHO this is' a nagging little voice whispered in his mind. But he pushed it aside. His mind also tried to supply a name but he refused to accept it. It couldn't be! It mustn't be!

Dan lifted his gun and trained it at ~Lucifer? No that was impossible! Don't think that!~ the strange creature on the floor which was now panting heavily and tried to get up from where it lay flat belly down, the enormous wings pushing weakly against the floor which made the thing cry out again. A steady drip of blood was running down the ruffled feathers now. At the second try, the thing got upright falling back at the wall in a sitting position wheezing heavily.

When it looked up at him even Dan in his denial could not refuse the truth anymore. An icy cold feeling of dread ran through him.

"Lucifer?" he managed to get out, his hands shaking with the gun. The other one merely looked back. The usually impeccable nightclub owner looked completely destroyed. His dress shirt and jacket was riddled with bullet holes, showing surprisingly unblemished skin. Lots of skin.

The bullets had managed to shred the wings and the clothes but NOT his body? Great. So much for self-defence if or whenever the man might find the strength to attack. All the clothing on his upper body was shredded to bits and dangled left and right from his wings. Wings! He actually possessed working, bleeding fucking angel wings softly glowing beneath the blood and gore.

He merely couldn't wrap his mind around those enormous white limbs stained with blood and steadily twitching obviously alive and attached. No cosplay. No way. At this point, Dan really feared for his sanity.

"Well, 'ello detective." Lucifer's voice slightly slurred but it still had this infuriating mocking tone lying beneath it Daniel hated so much. "You want to shoot me now or later? If you could choose a later time I must admit I could use some help here."

The man grimaced and heaved himself in another position panting hard with exhaustion. When he tried again to shift his wings he could not suppress another cry though it was obvious he tried. The first shock over the apparent supernatural revelation slightly subsiding, the detective had to admit the sight was rather pathetic more than frightening.

Dan swallowed hard. "Sooo, you're an angel, huh?" he managed to force out which earned him an exhausted laugh.

"Not quite so simple, Detective Douche," came the dry reply, "You got the 'what' but not grasped the importance of the 'who', I'm afraid. It distorts the picture. Care to try again and specify?"

"Lucifer" Dan forced out barely audible. "Lucifer Morningstar."

His trembling hands lowered the weapon. What use could that be against… against the Devil anyway?

"As I said," the other replied, he let his head fall to the side staring into nothing. Much quieter he went on, "That's my name." He sounded fatalistic and looked so exhausted, so much in pain. So … not evil.

Dan took a deep breath and upholstered his gun before he edged closer. He hesitated a little when he heard the crunching sounds and the rustling when he walked through the broken glass and the ripped out feathers but moved forward nonetheless. There was an impossible amount of the latter, all shredded and bloody.

The Devil was watching him again from half-shut eyes. It should have been unsettling but surprisingly Dan felt his initial fear draining out instead. He was confronted with the Devil and he felt concerned for him. The detective shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts. This was so insane.

He knew Chloe was safe and he knew something strange had been going on after the call but this? He wanted answers. No one else was there to ask, so it was either talking to Lucifer or being stuck literally and figuratively. "What happened?" Dan forced out.

The man sighed and stated with a somewhat exasperated tone: "It was an ambush. With the Detective near, I am vulnerable. So I used what I had and shielded us as well as possible. Those things back there," with that he nodded to the wings on his back, "had to take the full brunt of the attack and I'm afraid they won't take much more. So I got the Detective a safe distance away, got back, put the culprits down and send Cain to hell. Nothing special." He looked at Dan with an equally dejected and rebellious expression that plainly showed he didn't expect the man to believe a single word of what he had said but telling the truth nonetheless. With a little shock, the Detective realized he had seen that expression before. Lucifer had worn it whenever cornered and pressed to tell the truth and doing so by claiming to be the Devil and offering what appeared to be absolutely ridiculous explanations. Well, not so ridiculous anymore.

Dan blinked and shook his head. This was too much to process; too much to wrap his head around. Another pained yelp shook him out of his beginning stupor. He saw the face of the other grimace and twist in pain, with a new twitching of his wings sending further flows of blood dripping to the floor.

Looking around Dan registered how much blood there was. Even for the Devil, so much blood loss could not be a good thing. Hadn't he said he was only vulnerable around Chloe? Why was he still bleeding then?

"Ah, is there, do… do they… shouldn't they heal now?" the words fell out of his empty brain. 'Really?' He thought to himself, 'That's what you want to know now?'

The man/devil/angel exhaled and sagged a bit lower down the wall, he looked as if he was about to faint and was barely holding on to consciousness.

"Usually they would but as long as I can't get the bullets out they can't. I'm not even able to lift them now, the flight here was simply a tad bit too much."

Without thinking, Dan rushed forward and grabbed the man when he started to collapse. He didn't allow himself to think too much when he held Lucifer upright. He was running on pure instinct now. His own body shivered but he suppressed it. He surprised himself with the insight that he believed what the drooping man had just said. Whatever this here was, all the clues pointed to one scenario: the man in front of him had saved Chloe at the cost of his own wellbeing.

The devil saved Chloe. He repeated this unbelievable sentence over and over again like a mantra in his head. Slowly the feeling of going crazy subsided a bit and he felt as if he could go through this. His more charitable side was taking over. Besides all his flaws he had always felt compassion for anybody who needed help.

He bowed close to the other one and caught his drifting gaze. The man really didn't look too good right now.

"What can I do?" he asked much more firmly, "t-to help I mean." he clarified with barely a stutter. Help the devil. Damn. Talk about a helper syndrome.

This shook Lucifer a little more alert again, he straightened and his impossibly dark eyes bore into Dan's while he displayed an expression of genuine surprise.

"Oh, Detective! I must say, that your courage is quite something. It seems I was wrong, you are a complicated one after all." he smirked almost as aggravatingly as usual, "of course your talent to ask about the obvious is quite unbroken, Detective Douche!" He slouched again, the wounds, blood loss and overexertion finally taking its toll even at him. He could barely keep his head up and slur the next words: "Take the bullets out of me so I can heal. Those pesky things there already 'try' to heal but they can't with those infernal bullets inside. Also, you need to get the broken feathers out or the shafts will let me bleed to death after all. Those cannot heal anymore. They are too damaged."

Dan sighed. Ok, this guy he knew. It was all the same old Lucifer, this pesky and mocking attitude was the reason he could not take this person seriously. Might he be the Devil or not, regarding his personality he was just… a big, clueless, goofy dork.

With a last lingering sense of fatal finality, he bent down to lift the 'fallen angel' from the floor. It wasn't easy to get him up without hurting the damned wings even more and he was heavy but with the other squatting on the floor it was impossible to do anything.

Damned if, of all people, he'd never thought he'd ever take the insufferable Lucifer to bed.

To say he felt surprised would be the understatement of the century. And since honesty was Lucifer's most valued virtue he had to admit to himself that in fact he was completely mystified by this turn of events.

When he had seen the 'Douche' in his penthouse he had cursed himself for his stupidity. Of course, he had forgotten about Ella, the asshole who managed to lure them into the trap and the Douche. The only thing he had been able to think of was getting home and locking himself in. To hell with those wings and the problems they caused.

Now he wondered where the others were since it seemed only Dan was still here. But that was much less a surprise then the others reaction to this revelation or better the lack of the usual.

He'd truly thought as soon as the truth would force its way into that man's thick brain it would burn it out and that's it. But now he let himself be dragged up by the Detective.

Since he had really used up all of his not inconsiderable strength for the torturing flight he felt almost as vulnerable as if Chloe was still near. The bullets were burning on and on in the open wounds. His feathers dripping blood where they had broken beneath the skin, the still remaining shafts leading the blood out unconstrained. He could only do so much to help the man when he was dragging and pulling his heavy form to his bed and dropping him down quite unceremoniously at the end. His inhuman body much heavier than Dan was used to, his wings not making things easier one bit, and he had to admire the tenacity Daniel showed while supporting him. He didn't even find the energy to make a cutting remark when the detective removed his torn shirt and clothing. A shame to let this opportunity for an amusing bantering and lewd innuendos pass but there was simply nothing left in him now.

As soon as Dan had manoeuvred him belly-down onto the bed, his wings spread out and dangled left and right off even the king-sized mattress he let himself drift, not observing or counting time while the other man rummaged through his penthouse searching for whatever he thought might be useful.

Despite the pain he lay still and let the events of the day pass by, trusting the human to take care of him without even knowing why.

He couldn't understand how first Chloe and then even Dan could be so unaffected, At least at first sight. He almost felt insignificant but also ….much less like a monster. Maybe they did now somewhere subconscious. Maybe their relationships were truly deeper than he had realized. He wondered how much he had missed when he'd shut himself off of true closeness with other people and he realized that he had underestimated mankind a lot. He should have known better thinking of Linda but how was he supposed to know she wasn't just the exception that proved the rule?

He jolted and a huff escaped him before he could prevent it when Dan started to clean the blood from his wings. He had been so immersed into his own thoughts he hadn't even registered the man had come back.

"Careful Daniel," he gasped out, to divert from his own vulnerability he added: "the edges of the flight feathers are sharp."

"Yeah, a bit late for that information. I already found out when I hauled you over and they ruined my jeans. But thanks anyway." The detective snorted and continued to gently clean as much blood away as possible so he could see what had to be done. The water in the big silver ice bowl he was using to do the task was rapidly turning to a bloody red colour. Lucifer knew he had to get out the broken feathers first or the bleeding would not stop. It seemed the man had come to the same conclusion since he soon felt a first tentative pull at one remnant of a feather when Dan tried to get the leaking shaft out.

"You need to be much less gentle if you want that to come out," he stated tiredly while watching over his shoulder to estimate the potential of success the human might have in his task. The strain became more challenging with every drop of blood leaking out of his body. "Don't be shy, out they must come. And fast please if possible. Any idea on how to get those bothersome bullets out?"

Hesitantly Dan lifted some slim tongs he had pilfered at the bar and a thin long metal stirring spoon. Both reeked of strong alcohol.

Lucifer chuckled when he realized what Dan had tried to do. "You don't need to disinfect, I'm immune to whatever plagues or pestilences you humans might carry but I appreciate the thought."

To his own surprise, he really did. When had he become so close and involved with those humans? And how had it happened that they even had become so attached to him?

He tried to hold onto those thoughts while the human used some pliers Lucifer couldn't even remember owning to pull out the shafts of the broken feathers. It was no easy task and the man needed all his strength to get them off. Had they not been broken it would have been impossible for a human being to get any feathers out but his body let go of the beyond-repair damaged ones. Still, it took some time since there were so many of them and Dan was panting heavily when it was done.

After that Lucifer could feel the human's hands shaking when he tried to insert the slim tong into one of the gaping bullet holes. Of course, it didn't work the wounds being much too tight to open the tongs and grabbing the bullets but Lucifer didn't complain. For one he had no energy left for remarks since he needed everything he had to withstand the pain and second he himself had no idea how to pry bullets out of angel's wings. This was a truly novel one on earth after all.

In the end, Dan used a stirring spoon with a very slim spoon-bowl which was only slightly bent at the end. It was a horrible feeling when he inserted it into the wound and the bowl scraped along the bullet, pushing it slightly deeper while passing. But then the spoon bowl caught beneath the bullet point. It went out much better than expected and he could almost instantly feel the healing process kick in soothing the pain a little. It would take a while but the wings would heal. He wondered how long he had to wait till he regained strength but there was no way to predict.

He mused about those damned wings. He had hated them, even despised them with passion. But now he realized he was happy they were there. He even welcomed the pain and he was amazed when he realized that it hadn't even occurred to him to simply cut them off again and be done with that.

Without those stupid things Chloe would be…well she would be simply dead, wouldn't she? The thought cut through his heart like a knife and left it aching.

This instant he knew exactly he could never cut them off again, as much easier his life without them might be. He simply knew now he needed them if he wanted to stay near the woman he… appreciated so much. And surprisingly after accepting Amenadiel's theory, he even valued them as a part of himself as he did his devil face.

He barely felt the pain from Dan's ministrations anymore, nor did he register how fast the silver bowl on his nightstand raised its bloody waterline when it was filled with bullets. He relished the feeling of wholeness he had discovered. His wings and his devil face, two sides of one coin. His very own two sides. And they both were all of a sudden okay for him.

The devil face to punish the wicked, the angel wings to rescue the beloved. Punishment. Protection. Equilibrium? Maybe.

Dan's voice interrupted his thoughts and brought the suffering back.

"I think I have all but it might be better if you turn around so I can have a look at the other sides. Maybe some have gone through or are stuck at the coverts." He said. His face looked tired, calm and a bit bewildered when Lucifer peeked over his shoulder at the man.

Of course, tending angel wings must be a bit overwhelming for a human Lucifer thought while he rolled over. The wings were far from healed but the terrible burn had subsided, leaving only a dull ache in comparison. He had no idea how long it would take for them to heal.

He moaned in agony when he rolled onto his back and spread the wings again. Dan's hands were surprisingly gentle when he handled them though.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked out of the blue while gazing at the ceiling.

Daniel didn't stop his ministrations but he answered anyway. "Because you asked me to"

Lucifer laughed a little. "Of course," he retorted, "silly me, what's there to ask?"

When Dan didn't honour his sarcastic comment with an answer, he let it go for now. He merely lay there, letting the human handle his most private parts without hesitation while still wondering about himself. He really hated it when anybody even saw those damned things. Letting anybody touch them for any other reason than to cut them off had been unthinkable so far but now? It could not solely be his new appreciation for them. So much he had learned from Linda already. There had to be something else.

What happened here? He looked at Dan and felt the same warmth he had felt earlier. It was trust and a deep sense of connection he had never let himself feel before.

Friends. A mere word so far. But when the human looked back into his eyes, conveying no fear, no revulsion, showing nothing but a slight hint of concern, Lucifer felt accepted for the second time today and in his life. Really accepted. He had a hint of that feeling with Linda before and now and then had felt traces of it but only now he recognized it for what it was. Only now he allowed himself to feel at all. His feelings for the detective had never been so deep like they were for Chloe but still, he had obviously something building up there without realizing.

He understood it was the love one would feel for a brother if not… well if he had brothers who didn't see him as the incarnation of pure evil. He still felt bitter when he thought back to the day he had arrived to stay and Amenadiel had said so right in his face wearing a smile and without hesitation or doubt in his voice and on top despite all of Lucifer's efforts to help him out that day.

"Please Daniel don't…" he blurted out when the hurt and the rage of that adventure was reawakened together with the memory but stopped himself mid-sentence.

"What?" Dan asked, "Am I hurting you too badly?"

"No" Lucifer replied, unwilling to confirm the slip.

"Then what?" Dan repeated, "I've been cleaning out angel wings for hours now without totally freaking out about the fact they are attached to the devil himself. After that, I think I deserve whatever you wanted to say right now. Would be respectful if you ended your sentences after the service you received, don't treat me like a…"

"Oh, bloody hell will you shut up already?" Lucifer groaned, his old self flickering up despite his growing sleepiness.

"Then what shouldn't I do, BigBird?" Dan teased.

The other hesitated. When he answered Dan had to make an effort to catch what he was saying.

"Please don't hate me tomorrow," Lucifer whispered.

He allowed himself one last glance at the now utterly bamboozled looking human before he let go and slipped to sleep.

Just now, just for this tiny moment, he decided he deserved this feeling of safety and peace. He took it with him into his dreams.

Daniel sat there and stared at the sleeping devil.

"What the fuck was that?" he uttered but the man was out like a light. He couldn't hear him anymore and didn't react to anything.

Tentatively he lifted his hand and touched the soft plumage on the inside of the wings. Only now that he'd finished his gruesome task he allowed himself to truly experience this divine wonder that was sprawled out right in front of him. The unblemished feathers were shiny white and slightly glowing.

Divinity and the devil; who would have expected that? The Detective let his eyes wander. He considered the sleeping form in front of him and took in the whole sight. The wounds had already stopped bleeding now. It was clear that the healing would not be a quick thing though. Even in his sleep Lucifer's face slightly twisted in pain occasionally, the wings twitching and quivering slightly now and then as if he tried to pull them closer and wrap them around his body.

Daniel sighed again and carefully pushed at the ridge of the right wing which lay overstretched from the edge of the bed. He felt the muscles contract under his hands and truly to his impression Lucifer pulled the limb closer as soon as it was up. He rolled over in his sleep to his side and stretched both wings back behind him, before he left one wing dangling downwards in a more natural angle while the other rested over his shoulder to his front, his lean form snuggled beneath it as if it was a blanket.

Only now the whole truth dawned on Dan. This was Lucifer. The whole Lucifer as he was born into the world. He was not human. He was not an anomaly or a mutant that was not meant to be. He was a completely different species. While at first sight, the wings oozed some kind of power and divinity, they were also limbs of a being that was alive and vulnerable. Had feelings and pains and worries. As strange and insane the whole appearance had seemed at first, right now, combined with his completely common body sheltering himself in a completely earthly bed after a bad day he realized: this was natural; merely not common to his worldview so far. Not an omnipotent evil that seduced the world and ruled from beneath with an unknown malevolent master plan but a creature with a mind just like any other.

He got up and meandered through the penthouse when he realized that the elevator was still locked and he couldn't get out without literally raising the Devil.

He chuckled to himself at that thought. For a moment he occupied himself with the idea to call Chloe. Surely he had found out what had upset her so much but he decided against it for now. He himself had to sort this out a bit more before he could talk about it to someone else. Besides, he was now sure she could truly handle herself. He wasn't supposed to come in anyways.

For the first time in his life, he found it in him to let go. He had overheard what Lucifer had told Chloe at the scene of Charlotte's murder although he had dismissed it instantly as utter nonsense. Blended it out to not get maddened at what seemed to be Lucifer's try to integrate even a tragic death into his antics.

But now everything looked different. She was in heaven. Truly in heaven. And maybe, just maybe he would be able to be good enough so one day he could see her again.

While wandering around he felt tired all of a sudden. He looked around and realized that Lucifer had effectively crashed everything he could have rested on in this room. The widespread wings had managed to rip through whatever was in their way and he had been truly lucky that he had stood so far aside. Otherwise, those pesky things might as well have sliced through him as well.

Again he let it go and wandered back to the bed. Lucifer had rolled over completely to one side. He didn't like the idea to get into bed with such sharp weapons attached to a bed partner. Moreover with Lucifer of all people, but he was tired and before he could overthink everything too much he just let himself fall onto the other side of the bed; positioning himself as far away as possible from the sleeping figure he closed his eyes and left the whole strange day behind him. What else could he do anyways locked in in this trashed penthouse?

None of them woke up from the creeping cold of the night but a few hours later one could have seen the two cuddled up together. The sharp lower edges of the wingtips were no problem when both men huddled under the soft inner plumage, the whole wing was far too long to bother them with its edges when Lucifer instinctively put his arm in a protective manner around a welcome warm body next to him, pulling it close in his sleep like he always did when he didn't sleep alone.


	3. Feathers, feathers, bloody feathers

Feathers, feathers, bloody feathers, feathers everywhere

Ella was driving as fast as possible and despite her worries, she could not prevent herself from enjoying the ride. Back when she had still 'connections' and was involved with cars this aerodynamic wonder build by Porsche would have had her mouth water on sight and even now she was not completely immune to its charm. She could swear the 911turbo s cabriolet with its lava-orange exterior had smiled at her when she moved towards the cars and as with all of Lucifer's toys, it stood there ready to use. It wasn't easy to handle but the lab tech had hidden talents when it came to such babes which would have left her colleagues speechless had they seen her right now.

The small but elegant German sports car made it easy to manoeuvre through the dense traffic. And if not for the dire circumstances, she would have wished she could take it for a joyride and just go on and on.

Still, she couldn't simply enjoy the ride. Aside from the hard attentiveness, it took to drive this bullet of a car and tame the 420 horses running under the hood she was still deeply disturbed by the events of the day. What had happened? Two of her best friends had just walked into an ambush and now one of them had called and made extremely strange demands.

Soon she reached the precinct, raising a few eyebrows when she parked the car and she had barely reached her lab when the forensics team was called to the location of the ambush. It only took the slightest persuasion and it was her call to lead the forensics. She was the best after all and now she had the 'news' that Pierce had been involved and that he was dead. No word so far about Lucifer though, she didn't know if that was good or bad.

The moment she set foot at the crime scene she knew something extraordinary had happened. The walls were riddled with countless bullet holes, bodies were lying all around while moaning and limping thugs were already rounded up outside and others who weren't lucky enough to be still able to stand, were checked by confused looking paramedics. Great, contaminated crime scene because of those.

But aside from trashed statues and lots of debris the most puzzling fact where the bloody feathers simply everywhere.

At first, she had thought someone had ripped a pillow or something but a second glance showed extremely big, white glowing feathers the like she had never seen before. She walked on but something repeatedly drew her eyes back to them again and again. They were strangely intriguing too look at despite being stained in blood and terribly ripped. She shook her head and went on to where she saw Chloe standing next to a body on the ground talking with the lead detective. While getting closer Ella realized that others were staring at the feathers too. She laughed nervously.

When she came closer Chloe nodded at her almost unnoticeably but making no other sign that gave away that Ella was here on her request. So her mind raced and she chooses to play this as if she'd never been involved in any of this.

"Oh geez. what happened here?" she exclaimed, maybe a tad bit more lively than usual but she couldn't help it. "Somebody slew an angel in here?" She rambled on while carefully stepping over the feathers all around her trying to avoid as much debris as possible, only to freeze on the spot when she saw the detective's reaction to her careless pun.

Chloe looked shocked. It was as if something had hit her. She started to sway and one of the others caught hold of her shoulder.

"Chloe!" Ella called and rushed over to her, "Chloe you ok?"

The other woman caught herself and shook her head a few times like a wet animal would do.

"Yes… yes, it's fine…" she got out. She looked into Ella's eyes and went on: "It's just…we were following this lead, because of Charlotte. Well, Pierce and I that is and…and it just…oh, Ella, it was a trap! They got him! There was nothing I could do! Oh, Ella!"

She had very convincingly started to sob and now fell into her arms, burying her nose into her hair whispering very fast: "Please Ella, Lucifer never was here, please!"

The smaller woman tried to look as if that outburst was news to her and she had no reason to disbelieve any of it while she wondered how Chloe expected to pull that off with so many witnesses but that wasn't her problem. Right now she had all the information she needed and she was willing to take a leap of faith for her friends.

The other detective gently pulled Chloe away and nodded understandingly to Ella.

"Chloe I promise I'll do my best to help so we can clear all of this up. You'll see, you'll have my report as soon as… well very fast! Just you trust me!" she exclaimed and turned to start her work.

Soon the paramedics had gone and the photos of the crime scene were shot and she could send her colleagues to start the process of bagging the evidence while she started the first inspection of Pierce together with the coroner. She could not avoid feeling a slight hint of loss at his sight. He had been some sort of hero to her after all. While later in her rage she had wished to see him punished she could not feel glee right now. This had not been what she had in mind when she had thought of fitting punishments or blamed him for what had happened. But although she was sure he deserved it she still felt a deep sadness when she secured the knife that had killed him. She watched when the coroner took away the corpse before she turned and went on with securing the evidence.

Feathers. Lots and lots of feathers. Bloody, softly glowing and completely destroyed feathers wherever she was looking. They even where at the roof and at the outside of a window that had been broken through towards the inside. How was that even possible? While she worked and bagged mostly feathers followed closely by lots and lots of bullets she heard the first rumours being thrown around. The suspects either didn't talk at all or utter nonsense, it went through the grapevine. It was as if whatever happened here had driven them all into insanity.

The first murmur from the coroner said that Pierce must have been in hard hand-to-hand combat with Iron Man or something like that. Since his hands looked as if he had hit a brick wall, one of them completely fractured and twisted around at the wrist and as was his body. It seemed he had been stabbed with his own knife. Just once but it was driven into his body with so much force it was almost unbelievable anyone could have gotten it so deep inside with only one hit.

Finally, the first sweep was done and she could go back to the lab; leaving the second sweep to her colleagues to start on what she had.

When she reached the precinct Chloe had already given her statement but was lingering around for her.

"Ella, where's Dan?" she asked, "What have you done with Pierce's man?"

The tech could do nothing but shrug. "I'm not sure," she replied, "one of the LUX-people agreed to keep the asshole till police would get him but I had assumed Dan would be here already. Didn't he call it in?"

With a huff, Chloe took out her mobile and tried to reach Dan but he wouldn't pick up. She thought for a moment and then she dialled the number of LUX.

She didn't have to wait very long till someone picked up but Ella could only hear her side of the conversation.

"Hello this is Detective Decker. I'm calling for Detective Espinoza because… What? What do you mean he stashed a…. Oh, oh yes, of course, the car must have been delayed. I'll look into that immediately of course….I wonder if you could tell me where the detective went….WHAT? He is WHERE? You sure?"

Chloe looked up with so much terror in her eyes Ella felt her heart sink. But she could do nothing but listen.

"No, no it's fine yeah, could you please go and look….. What do you mean it's locked? …..You sure?...… Yeah, of course, I'll do. Thanks."

Chloe ended the call and run her hand through her hair with a desperate look in her eyes.

"It seems he went up to the penthouse again and now he's locked in with Lucifer." She huffed with some exasperation in her voice.

"I don't understand," Ella felt deeply confused, "is that a bad thing? Did Lucifer get hurt? What happened?"

Chloe looked up at her visibly shaken. "You would never believe me if I told you." She got out. "I still have problems understanding it myself. But maybe it's all ok. It seems there is nothing we can do but wait."

Ella turned back to her table covered in bagged feathers. "I'd wish you'd even try though. I have lots and lots to do. Anything I really need to know concerning Lucifer? Is there any proof he was there?"

To her surprise, Chloe laughed. "More than you think but possibly nothing that would count in court." She said. At least I'm almost sure you won't find any fingerprints. I told them Pierce and I had found a clue concerning a lead to who killed Charlotte. This is plausible because I'd called him and told them the asshole who tricked us was in LUX. I'll send someone to get him now by the way. Then I said when I got there he had already gotten in and I could only hear the gunshots and the commotion and had no idea what really happened."

Ella nodded slowly. "I heard the survivors are talking shit or nothing at all." She went on. "Could work after all but what really happened there?" She looked up to Chloe who was visibly shaken but merely looked back.

"Lucifer happened." She finally whispered. She went on more firmly, "it was Lucifer, but I can't tell you exactly how. I really didn't see it happen. We were surrounded by tugs, Pierce shot at me and though I was wearing my vest it knocked me out and the next thing I know I was on the roof. No idea how he got me there. Then he left and I have no` idea how he could get down there in such an instant but he did. When I came back down the thugs where either down or dead and Pierce was out."

She looked aside again and Ella had the impression that she had just heard a Lucifer-truth. Not a lie exactly but with a hole that was quite big enough to hide Russian state secrets.

But she decided to let it rest for now. She turned around and let her view wander over the bagged evidence again.

Her usually cheerful and somewhat naïve characteristics contributed nothing to her personality that could dampen the sharp mind working beneath the surface.

Strangely it was the feathers again which draw her eyes upon them as if they were magnetic somehow. In the lowly lit lab, their luminescence was even better visible. She looked at them, felt the inexplicable wonder they caused in her and put all the little clues onto her inner mind map as if they were snippets, photos and names on a murder board, connecting the different facts she had gathered so far.

She remembered her talks with Lucifer, today and earlier. His behaviour and attitude she had attributed to absolute devotion to his method acting. The strange little incidents which always happened around him and his strange desire-mojo that so often lead to confessions or at least new insights. The fact that he had been there all alone, surrounded by guns and the feathers.

Feathers, feathers, bloody feathers, feathers everywhere, creating a strange form of track from a column surrounded room to a shattered window with the shards pointing inwards and again more bloody feathers clinging to the outside.

The blood that had registered as such on the quick test on the scene but only barely so, creating very strange readings and not giving out a blood type.

The rumours from the morgue and the batshit-crazy statements from the eyewitnesses.

She closed her eyes and sighed. The words of her favourite detective came to her mind:

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

She also remembered how Lucifer really was. How he seemed completely selfish and confident at one moment, then generous, self-sacrificing as well as absolutely clueless and confused the other.

Sometimes it seemed as if he plainly had no idea how being human actually worked.

Then she remembered her own past. Thought about her experiences. About…. Ray-Ray.

She came to a conclusion and turned around and looked at her friend, straight in her eyes.

"Sooo, how do you think your ex-husband is coping while patching up your so-not-in-love-devil/partner's angel wings, which he got shredded while protecting you in a hailstorm of bullets?" She said in an upbeat tone while crossing her arms and tilting her head to the side.

The view of absolute astonishment on Chloe's face was definitely worth it. Also, it was the last proof she needed.

So Lucifer really was… well, Lucifer fucking Morningstar and she couldn't wait to see him again and just grill him with questions.

The smile appearing on her face was almost feral.

Chloe could do nothing but stare. "What?" she got out at least, feeling as if somebody had turned a switch and everybody was acting strangely.

She looked at Ella's grinning face and went on: "How could you know that? I mean, are you serious? I… I…."

Ella's laughter interrupted her and shook her from the beginning shock. "Easy there, it's quite obvious isn't it? It's the only explanation that makes sense at all. I mean, the behaviour and all the strange stuff and … the behaviour and the feathers. The blood isn't quite right as well. And honestly, your face? On the scene? The moment I did ask about the angel-thing? Hello? Miss Obvious is knocking!"

She bumped her fist at the detective's shoulder and went on.

"Now you should go and fix this mess, it seems we had enough revelations for today, hadn't we? I don't think it's the best time to spread the word about the demon-lord wandering the city of angels huh? Besides, I have work to do."

The now completely unhinged detective stared with gaping mouth at the cheerful Tech. "And that's it?" she exclaimed, "He's the devil, ok fine let's go on and do the twist? How can you… don't you care?"

Ella slowly turned back to her. "Why should I?" she asked, "It's our Lucifer. Nothing changed except that we know how he really always tells the truth. He's not delusional either. Whatever he wants to do he'll do. Had he wanted to harm us he'd already done so and besides, why should he? What's there to gain? I already said: I've never believed the devil is the evil guy here. I think that's just how people try to get out of their responsibility. Uuuhhh, the devil made me do it! Since when do we believe that? So, as far as I'm concerned, nothing important changed. I loved him before, I love him now. He's a good friend, I believe, whenever I'll go to him and ask for anything he'll help me out. Just as he always did." With the last wink and a smile, she turned again and started sorting through her various bags.

Chloe could only stare at her. Could it really be so easy? Of course, the Lab-Tech had a point going there. If Lucifer ever had anything bad in mind no one could have stopped him; except her maybe. So it should have been very logical for him to get her out of the way. There had been numerous occasions where he could simply have let her die. He even ….

She remembered the poison, no one had the recipe for the antidote. No one but the dead Professor Carlisle but still he had gotten it somehow.

There was no good explanation and Lucifer hadn't been very forthcoming how he got it. But now it was clear, he had gotten it from hell.

He had been to hell for her to save her life. Earlier he had confronted Malcom for her and to save Trixie. How many more times? How much didn't she know or see? He really was a good friend, wasn't he?

Chloe's world was spinning. Ella was right. It was so easy. She looked at her mobile and pondered if she should try again and call Dan but finally, she decided it wasn't necessary. She knew her ex. The way Lucifer had looked the last time and the need to put things right that had driven Daniel lately should ensure those two should get along just fine right now. With the newly gained knowledge, she realized that a lot of things had now to be judged in a new light.

It would be highly unfair to evaluate Lucifer's behaviour regarding human standards. They plainly didn't apply to him. And it was also unfair to blame him for not trying harder at making her believe as well. Everything he had told her, everything she had such a hard time believing was plainly ordinary to him. And it wasn't like mankind had never heard of the devil before. Probably he had felt very helpless and merely didn't know what else to do. She remembered his absolute disbelief when she had shot him. His complete unpreparedness when the pain came.

After that, he even had asked her to test his blood and she'd never done it.

Why didn't she? When she had thrown the test tube she had told herself that it was silly but now she feared it was much less simple. Deep down she'd always known but she clearly didn't want to know.

Again all kind of thoughts were fighting in her head and she decided to put that all away for now. As Ella had said. There still was a lot to do.

For the rest of the day, Chloe was very busy leading the investigation without letting anybody know. This was something she had sworn she'd never do. she always hated corrupt cops and to her there simply couldn't be any good reason to do it. But again, till now she hadn't believed in devils and angels, hadn't she? So saving the devil from a police investigation definitely hadn't been on her radar.

Together with Ella she carefully nudged the leading detectives in the desired direction. It helped that as soon as it came out Pierce had fooled them all, most of the involved parties were all of a sudden veeeeery interested in closing this as fast as possible. This was the story they put together with a little help from the two conspirators:

The detectives received anonymous tips that let them to Charlotte's files. They found out that Charlotte had looked into Pierce because she had believed he was the Sinnerman. Somehow Pierce had found out that Charlotte was on his tracks and killed her. The chauffeur confessed he had planted the evidence to frame the other suspect.

They guessed Chloe had tumbled over some evidence that could have led to Pierce involvement but didn't know what it was. Of course, she had presented the evidence to Pierce believing that somebody in the precinct might be involved which explained why she had called.

She had had no idea it was Pierce.

Of course. A little display of shock and crying after being told so helped. After that Chloe left for the evening definitely too emotionally exhausted to move on.

It was much easier to coordinate with Ella which evidence was needed where when they weren't in the precinct.

The next day they went on and the leading detectives came to the following conclusions:

When she had called him with a new lead he had told her to meet at the location she had found out.

The thug Pierce had sent was very willing to confess of his part in the scheme. He told the Detectives how he had given her the information and could describe them with admirable accuracy.

Five minutes alone with him had helped him realizing neither she nor Lucifer was dead, and the information that Lucifer could take him out as easy as the other gunmen had helped to ensure his cooperation.

A few hints to the surviving thugs that trying to blame the devil when said devil was still alive and around helped to completely shut them up about Lucifer. The statements that they worked with the Sinnerman and that it was Pierce were absolutely true. They also confessed they had been hired to kill somebody but didn't know whom nor would they have cared which was also absolutely true.

But that the victim should have been Chloe was never told by anybody. It simply was the logical conclusion.

No one could tell what lead to Pierce's death, all said, again very truthfully, that he had been alone when he was killed. The leading detectives found that highly doubtful but couldn't prove them wrong. It wasn't very helpful that the only fingerprints on the murder weapon were Pierce's own.

Ella could make it plausible that the feathers and the blood on them had no relevance for the case. The blood readings were inconclusive. She didn't even have to fake that. It also was true. They came to the conclusion that the blood must have been tainted and left it at that. It had no relevance and did neither help nor hinder the case.

The thugs said they had been there when they came. This was an explanation as good as any.

After that Chloe decided she could leave the rest of the investigation into her colleague's capable hands.

She was a bit shocked. Two days. It had only taken two days to mislead an investigation. She now knew even better: Integrity was precious and she would never do something like that again.

She and Lucifer would have a loooong talk. She would learn everything there was to learn and make sure something like this would never. Happen. Again.


	4. Feathery shenanigans

Feathery Shenanigans

Ella was a bit baffled when she realized that Chloe had no desire to confront the devil. She herself literally bounced at the chance to ask all those questions haunting her since… well forever! Of course, it seemed Lucifer's relationship with his dad was …on rocky grounds and obviously he would not have the insight into Life, the Universe and Everything. But still…the devil! No really, THE DEVIL! In capitals! For the slightest moments, she recoiled internally when some occurrences came to her mind. She had dragged the devil to church and lectured him about God! But her bouncy mood just swished it aside. She could apologize if necessary. He was Lucifer, he would forgive.

It said a lot about her that she didn't even stop for a second at that thought.

He must have seen so much, experienced so much. And still, he seemed so…innocent. Almost…naïve…

She shook her head and went on through LUX. The club was buzzing again. The pragmatism of Lucifer's employees was amazing. As far as she knew he was a very well-liked boss. Another reason LUX was such a high-class club. The people here simply gave everything not to lose such a job.

She nodded to the bartender when heading forward. The bouncer keeping people away smiled his brightest and didn't even blink when she went by heading towards the private elevator.

Oh yeah, it was absolutely cool to be the popular girl for a change. She remembered briefly her struggles in high school and a small part wished those arrogant snobs could see her now. It would even be funnier if they knew… she laughed wildly when she jumped into the elevator cabin.

When she reached the penthouse she moved on a bit more carefully. It was difficult but she didn't want to overrun him. She could see some damage here and there left in the main room but in general Lucifer's amazing staff had done their best. It almost looked as good as ever. Had Dan not texted her the full extent of the destruction and how Lucy had arrived here. she would have never guessed a falling angel had left a trail of destruction across the rooms.

She heard bickering voices from the bedroom and carefully moved around the corner, always ready to move back just in case something…not ok was going on.

When she saw Daniel and the Devil she could barely hold back uncontrolled laughter. Silently she sneaked out her Phone and started taking pictures.

Lucifer sat on the bed, she saw him from the side, he peeked over his shoulder, his body was just slightly turned away which granted perfect view on his bare back and two incredibly beautiful wings stretched back with widespread flight feathers. Daniel sat between them, his arms smeared with what looked like a very expensive lotion which he seemed to massage between the feathers. The smell of the lotion wafted towards her and the resigned look on the devil's face showed clearly that this wasn't his idea.

Daniel, on the other hand, was giving the other man a sermon.

"….keep still! If you think that I'm going to endure another night next to you when you're squirming again you must be insane! I know I don't have to stay but you said it was ok! So live with it! The regrowing of the plumage seems to be almost done but the skin is still tender and dry so stop being so difficult!"

Now and then the other tried to get something in between the bickering rant but Dan simply went on and on. The puzzled expression shown on the devil's face was so out of character it was simply hilarious!

Ella could not hold onto herself, her laughter exploded in pure joy when she quickly shared the last pic with Chloe.

There, this should put this girl at ease!

The two men jumped, what was even funnier, and turned around so synchronously, both wearing an expression of such absolute surprise she nearly broke down with laughter.

Finally, she came closer and looked fascinated at the feathery limbs slightly glinting from the lotion.

"What on earth are you guys doing here?" she finally got out still laughing softly.

Lucifer turned his head around and stared stubbornly at the pillow while Dan turned a very interesting shade of deep red.

"Well, he has lost a lot of feathers and caught more than enough bullets to kill a small elephant. It's healing but he drives me nuts with his constant ruffling and shaking because of the itches so we…"

"You!" interrupted the other.

Dan rolled his eyes and sighed "yeah, ok I thought it might be better to put something soothing on it." He turned to the other again and exclaimed furiously: "And yesterday you said it was soothing!"

Ella thought she would wet herself if she could not stop laughing soon. The look of pure indignation it earned her from both of them in unison only edging her on.

"And what was that about not enduring another night next to him?" she inquired in Dan's direction.

The fallen Angel smiled wickedly while Dan turned an even more interesting shade of red.

"Well…" Dan started, with an obvious loss of words he turned to Lucifer but there was no help coming from this side. "It's complicated." He started unsure of himself.

Ella let herself fall onto the bed. With a puckish smile, she reached for the lotion. She threw a questioning glance at Lucifer, which he answered with a compliant sigh while invitingly spreading his wings again. She poured a generous amount of the lotion onto her hands and started to rub it onto her palms. She gently touched the marvellous plumage, finally feeling a hint of reverence before pushing it aside and starting to rub the sore skin beneath the splendorous plumage. She remembered the masses of broken feathers and while it was amazing how fast the healing had gone forward she could easily see that Dan might be right, the lotion definitely seemed to be a good idea.

"Well just start explaining," she teased while amusing herself about the cuteness of Lucifer "I'm burning to learn how the two of you became so chummy and I've got the whole night."

She teased Dan with his cuddle sessions under angel wings till Lucifer of all persons stopped her while she silently envied the chance. She swore to herself, while she definitely had no intention getting into the devils pants she would get a nap like this if it was the last thing she did. If he could cuddle with Daniel he could do so with her after all! She could clearly recognize though that something was still wrong with Dan and even Lucifer showed signs of concern. They both came to a silent agreement to let him be for the moment.

Still, it was an amazing evening. Since the truth had been revealed it was even better to be with Lucifer. She didn't realize how much his fear of being rejected had limited him. His joy and amazed happiness about them, obvious even though he pretended otherwise, was simply invigorating. Soon she started drilling him with some questions. If his face was anything to go by they weren't the usual though.

She wanted to know how old he was -he didn't know for sure. She wanted to know how hell looked and what was going on. This seemed no surprise and the answer was depressing. No wonder he had wanted out. No light, constantly raining ashes, everything drab and cold and no music. He especially emphasised this. It must have been horrifying for him. His joy while singing was obvious.

She wanted to know why earth and how long he'd been there and was surprised by how little time he had spent around; only a few days here and there.

To say she and Daniel had been surprised when he called earth his preferred home would have been an understatement.

She also wanted to know if he moulted –the tantrum he threw was positively endearing- if he had special powers –speaking any language, superior strength and being able to lure people to tell their deepest desires if they wanted to or not was pretty cool. What was his favourite food? –It was chocolate and anything related to it. No surprise there.

She also wanted to know if he had met Jesus and several other things but not even she dared to ask the first time. Instead, she laughed about stories of him and his brethren as well as several shenanigans they had experienced which were definitely depicted completely different in the bible.

The evening ended with an amazing dinner. They munched happily through all kind of junk food and Dan tried to hide his surprise when he spied the exquisite home-made pudding in his favourite flavour Lucifer had ordered and then ignored for his sake.

The only thing dampening the mood now and then was the occasional silence Dan fell into and the somewhat forlorn glances Lucifer shot his phone now and then.

No one needed to be a psychic to know what he waited for. Ella just could not understand why Chloe could not come around. She was positive it would help her, make her feel better.

When she finally had to go home she turned in the elevators cabin and the last thing she saw was Dan standing in the soft moonlight on the balcony, Lucifer at his side who gently laid a hand on his shoulder.

She was so happy her friend had someone to help him cope. She only hoped Chloe would eventually come around too.


	5. Going through the motions

Going Through the Motions

While Chloe and Ella were busy saving their world, Dan and Lucifer mostly enjoyed their very personal oblivion.

The morning found them still deeply asleep, kept under by physical and emotional exhaustion. It was mostly the day before's strain that had put them under. It was a psychological coping mechanism that worked well for humans and for devils.

The rising morning sun bathed the bedroom in a golden light and finally woke Dan from the most peaceful slumber he had had in days.

The first thing he became aware of was warmth all around him. He had never felt so warm. But it wasn't unpleasant. He didn't open his eyes just now but simply snuggled deeper into that very welcoming heat that enveloped him. His movement caused the arms which cradled him so protectively to hold on a little stronger and with a contented breath a nose nuzzled into his neck.

Which caused him to snap awake in an instant.

Carefully he peeked back over his shoulder and realized his recent situation.

He was fully wrapped in a high dose of snuggling devil. Body and limbs.

Oh shit.

Carefully he tried to extract himself from the tangle of arms, legs and wings around him, very sure that this devil would never let him see the end of teasing if he woke but it was futile.

How could he have gotten it into his mind to get into this particular bed? He must have been momentarily mentally incompetent. He huffed and decided that it had no use. He had to get up somehow. Carefully he tried to get the wing of first. As he touched it he realized how warm and soft it was. At least at the inside. No wonder he had slept so well.

Then he remembered what he had done yesterday and wondered how much damage that might have left. Carefully he stroke the feathers before he pushed them aside to look how the wounds where healing.

The bleeding had stopped and angry red skin had grown taught over the formerly gaping bullet holes. The places where he had removed broken feathers were hot and hard new quills were already poking their spiky tips through. It looked very itchy.

Carefully he roamed through the plumage to inspect a little more. Moving his fingers in what he hoped soothing circles to minimize any possible harm.

"You know that I can feel that, do you?" a sleepy voice came from behind.

Dan jumped in the other's arms but the damned devil still didn't let go.

"I was just checking how you're doing. I hope you don't get the wrong ideas about that!" he huffed indignantly.

Lucifer chuckled tiredly with his face still buried in his neck. "Don't worry detective. Feels nice but I'm not that needy. Besides I prefer a tad bit more intent to get me all lit up."

Daniel let go of the wing and tried to get up, but the other still hung on.

"Why do you hold me?" he inquired.

"Why are you in my bed?" Lucifer replied."You trashed the penthouse and locked us in so since it was too cold to sleep on the floor, there was nowhere else to go and now I'd like to get up if you don't mind," Dan answered feeling sillier with every passing minute.

"And where would you be going then if I might ask?" Lucifer inquired.

"Out of the bed and now let go!" Daniel made a first honest attempt to break out and to his surprise, the other actually let go.

When he came back from the bathroom Lucifer had barely moved. His chest raised and fell in a steady rhythm as if he hadn't even been awake, eyes still closed, wings pulled tight around his form as if to protect himself. Low shivers shook his shoulders as if he was cold.

Dan sat on the edge of the bed and put a hand on the other's shoulder.

"Lucifer?" he inquired, "Lucifer what's wrong? Still feeling weak?"

"A little" the other replied, "but mostly I'm cold"

Dan got up again and moved to the bathroom. The king-sized jet tub looked promising. Might even be big enough for the wings and it sure would help to get the sticky remnants of the blood down.

"Care for a bath?" he called back to the other and got a tentative 'hmmm' back he interpreted as a yes.

It took a while to make the other accept that Dan was absolutely not interested, no not even remotely, in sharing the bath but finally he had the devil out of bed and started to get the bedroom into shape.

He was a bit puzzled about himself but it was somewhat calming to clean away the biggest mess. He took the bowl with the bloody water to the sink at the bar and let it run down the sewer. There were so many bullets. It was incredible that anybody could be able to live and even move with so many bullets still embedded into his body.

He laughed to himself and shook his head. This situation was so silly. His feelings were so jumbled. He almost had the desire to crawl back into a cocoon of feathers.

He pulled up a mostly unharmed barstool and poured himself some water.

The death of Charlotte had been devastating and he missed her so much, that the fact he had shared a bed with the devil, even if it was merely to sleep barely left a dent in his still fresh grief .

He hung his head and remembered how good it had felt when they'd reconnected at last. She was so different from the first time; so charming and warm. And there was this deep connection as if she understood him completely.

He laughed when he remembered the first time they had been together and how bad she had been. So when he thought about it she probably really understood him better than anybody else, hadn't she also struggled to get back in the good tracks after defending criminals and even doing shady things herself?

He laughed a little more but his smile froze on his face when he remembered how she once told him he was her 'favourite human'…

Oh no.

He heard a shuffle behind him and saw Lucifer walking towards him wearing nothing but a pair of nondescript black trousers and carefully flexing his damp wings. He looked slightly more awake now but still somewhat groggy.

"What was Charlotte?" he asked.

The other watched him with a tired expression.

"I guess I should have anticipated this question," he started, as he gazed absentmindedly past Dan and went on with a sight, "she was human, all the time she really was human. But for a short while, she also was the vessel of the spiritual being of my mom."

Dan could only stare at him.

"You mean…" he started.

"Well," Lucifer looked aside, "yes her body was possessed by the goddess of all creation and …well my mother. Amenadiel's mom as well just so you know and we have a lot more siblings. And yes the woman you first met and slept with was…my mom. The ex-wife of God."

Dan stared at him and swallowed. He started to sway at his barstool and only Lucifer's firm grip on his shoulder, which even hurt a bit, shook him out of his shock.

"Don't overthink that Daniel" the other man calmed him with a sad voice. "You had no chance, she even ensnared my dad and besides: how could you have known? She is gone now. Gone for good and no one will ever see her again that's sure. She's starting her very own universe in a completely new dimension. And the woman you fell in love with, Charlotte, she definitely deserved every bit of love the two of you could find for each other."

Dan still felt as if he could faint any moment but the dull feeling of resignation already crept back on him. He accepted the glass Lucifer pressed in his hands and sputtered after the first gulp. He had expected water but of course, Lucifer being Lucifer, it was vodka. The burning of the alcohol still made it easier somewhat. He emptied the glass but denied a second. Getting drunk would not help now.

"What now?" he murmured to himself.

Lucifer seemed to feel addressed since he patted his shoulder and answered, "what about a shower?".

"You look as if you slaughtered somebody. There are all kinds of stuff in the wardrobe, have a look; surely you find something. Then I'd suggest breakfast. After that … well, life is short for you Daniel. You should not dwell on the past. Be grateful that you have somebody like Charlotte waiting for you. Make it your goal to see her again and live a good life."

Dan looked up at him and took the words in. The two gulps of vodka on an empty stomach had been enough to give him the slightest buzz and he felt somewhat numb again. But still, the words were soothing.

He got up and slowly marched towards the bathroom. "It's not as if I have any choice in this have I. The exit's still locked." He snorted.

Lucifer's face paled. "I hope you aren't try to imply I'm keeping you prisoner." he snarled. "You can go at any given time. The code is: open."

Dan stopped walking and turned to stare at him again. "Open?" The other nodded. "Just 'open'."

Now he rolled his eyes but nodded again.

Dan snickered. "And that means safety for you? What is the lock code? 'Close'?"

"Of course it is," Lucifer replied and when he saw Dan's mocking expression he stated:

"Would you have guessed?"

With that, he left Dan to his own devices and turned to the phone to order breakfast. When he passed the elevator he made it a show to unlock it.

Dan sighed again. It seemed he did nothing else anymore these days. He really should go home now. Just leave. This was pure insanity. But when he got up he found himself to his own surprise wandering to the wardrobe.

He didn't ask himself why the other man had so much stuff there that obviously wasn't his. Nor did he ask himself how anybody could forget pants at a penthouse and still get home. Everything was neatly cleaned and stashed away just in case it seemed.

While showering he wondered why the other man had never made a move on him. He hit on everybody else after all. He didn't think it was a lack of attraction. Lucifer seemed attracted to almost everyone and he even had made one or another complimenting remark now and then.

He had the feeling it was more about … not quite respect, Lucifer never hinted that he didn't respect anybody he did sleep with, but consideration from the other. It seemed he valued Dan's freedom and choice too much. He had made a point that he could get anybody and even turn a straight man and Dan now believed he could, but that didn't necessarily mean he would have anybody at all cost.

So maybe, just maybe, the devil was the friend he needed right now. He felt numb, directionless and lonely.

That Pierce had killed Charlotte; it had obviously been too much.

When he went out he found himself in front of what seemed to be a table conjured out of nothing laden with almost any breakfast dish he'd ever seen. And to his own surprise, he even was hungry.

He knew it was insane and probably the strangest thing to do but he decided to hole himself up here for now.

Everything was better than to be alone at home and Lucifer would surely be a good friend and leave him be. Another human might have tried to get him to talk, to cry, and to work through but that wasn't what he needed now. The other lacking tact and understanding of common customs and behaviour, as annoying as it usually was, became a welcome thing all of a sudden.

"Funny." He said.

"Care to explain what's so funny?" the other inquired after a while.

"When I thought you were human you seemed to me like the biggest asshole I've ever met. But now that I know you're the devil…. well let's say you might not be such a bad friend after all and if that's not ridiculous I don't know what is."

While Dan simply went on eating Lucifer could only stare at him but the detective didn't even register that. Being with the devil simply gave him something to do;something to focus on. In between, he still had time to be. And since this was a special situation, who knows? Maybe Lucifer was the only one to soothe his bruised feelings right now when he had not only to deal with the death of the woman he loved but also with everything else crashing down on him.

Lucifer didn't get it. Did he harm Daniel after all? The behaviour of the detective was strange and unusual. He was beside himself.

Annoyed he rolled his shoulders and flexed his wings. He couldn't concentrate, the darn things where itching! Like hell! It was the worst torture he had ever endured. It was even worse than the pain. He had tried to fold them away but then they itched even more. His logical mind knew that was because the feathers where regrowing faster but he absolutely could not stand an itch he couldn't even scratch or lessen by flexing and shaking them.

After awhile of constant fidgeting, the detective seemed to sense something and looked thoughtfully at him.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked.

Lucifer was really on edge right now so replied a bit more irritably than he meant to.

"What do you think, you moron!" He bellowed. "Those damned feathers are growing. It's itching!" He jumped up with a growl and started pacing, constantly shaking his wings. "I hate that, why do they have to itch? Who would know that this is so…..irritating!"

The detective watched quite unimpressed. "You never had feathers regrowing?" he asked. "Don't you ever loose feathers? Do those 'moult' anyway?"

"I'm not a bird!" Lucifer exclaimed. "I definitely don't 'moult', thank you. I rarely ever lose feathers and if I do of course they regrow but not so many at a time! I have no idea what I'm supposed to do!"

Dan got up and grabbed his shoulders.

"Let me see," he demanded.

"And what would you know about that I don't?" The bigger man snapped.

"Nothing." Dan deadpanned, "but that didn't deter you yesterday when you needed help with them so why should it stop us today?" With that, he unceremoniously pushed Lucifer around and started ruffling through his plumage as if it was the most common thing in the world and to his own surprise, he let him. At least the firm touches soothed the itch. So that was that.

"It seems the skin is dry and irritated," Dan stated. "The wounds are closed now but they don't look that good either. So you have… maybe some ointment? Maybe it will calm down with something soothing. No idea if it works though.

Lucifer, of course, didn't have ointment but soothing lotion he had. He refrained from bursting out with what he had it for and Dan didn't ask.

The mobile on the nightstand rang while they were sitting on the bed again, Lucifer almost writhing with relief and Dan stoically rubbing expensive lotion between feathers. Since the detective's hands were busy and covered in oily cream Lucifer accepted the call and held the device to Dan's ear.

Talking about strangeness here, even he realized all of this was absurd.

It was Chloe. Since his close proximity Lucifer could hear her very clearly, they could as well have used the speakers but he turned his head and pretended he didn't hear despite the sudden longing in his heart. He wished with all he had it was Chloe here with him and not Dan. He knew it was unfair. What Daniel had done was beyond everything he had ever expected from him and proved himself to be a very good friend but still, the person whose acceptance he really wished for was now talking on the phone and not to him.

"Dan?" The voice of his partner let the devil shudder with longing. "Dan, are you ok? Where are you?"

Daniel answered calmly and unaffected. "I'm fine. I'm with Lucifer to help with his injuries. What about you? You OK?"

There was silence in the line. One could almost feel her perplexity over the phone.

"You sure you're ok Dan?" She inquired again. Lucifer was a bit hurt she didn't ask about his wellbeing. "Why shouldn't I?" Dan replied, "I'm not the one to regrow a few hundred feathers and recovering from 68 gunshot wounds." the bigger man stared at him. He was surprised the detective had counted the bullets and hadn't realised it had been that many.

Chloe gasped. "What?" she exclaimed, "I didn't realize it was that bad! How is he? Does it heal? Do you need help?"

Daniel looked at him and he hesitated. As much as he'd wish her to be here, it would have been highly unfair. He had promised he'd be here waiting till she was ready and bringing her over with this would be like breaking his word. He felt soothed that she cared though. Hesitantly he signalled Dan it was ok.

"No, it's fine." Dan laughed nervously, "I'd never thought I'd ever massage an angel's wings though."

Again there was a dead silence on the phone. "Ok, we definitely need to have a talk. It's strange. First Ella behaved as if she knew all the time and blurted out everything was fine and Lucifer was a nice guy all along, who cares he's the devil too and now you of all people are babbling about massaging wings as if it was nothing. Am I the only one who finds this hard to take?"

Dan laughed raggedly. "You don't say! I'm feeling as if I'm going crazy here but…"

He stopped and thought for a while. While looking in the other's eyes the celestial creature had the feeling his heart was on the brink of breaking.

"On the other hand," Dan went on, "yes it's strange and a lot to take in but all that's really changed is that we now know he's always been honest hasn't he? That sure should count for something." Dan gifted him with the tiniest smile.

"Besides, when will I ever get the chance to do this ever again?" he laughed.

"I think when we are dealing with the devil here it might be a good idea to get in his good books don't you?" With that he winked at Lucifer, successfully taking the edge of that comment and putting him on ease.

"Don't worry Chloe, we're fine. You do what you have to. I guess I won't be of great help to you anyway." he finished.

"Oh ok. I guess you are right." Chloe sounded tired now. "Ella and I have lots to settle still. I'll tell you everything later. It might be another day though."

"It's fine, I think I'll stay here for now" this comment from the man earned another dead silence on the line. "Maybe tomorrow you can bring Ella too and we can sort this out together." Dan suggested.

"Daniel," Chloe started sounding insecure again, "You sure you all right? You're staying willingly with Lucifer?"

Dan laughed again. "Well, maybe I'm not as much ok as I'd want to be but, you know, it's somehow better here just for now. It's because…" his voice trembled now. "I can't be alone right now. Please, just let me be."

Charlotte, of course. Now Lucifer realised he might be as necessary for Dan right now as Dan was useful to him.

Chloe breathed audibly with resignation. "Ok, Dan . if you say so. I'm so sorry but you are right. I have all hands full and I really need the time to sort everything out. Tell Lucifer… tell him it's all ok between us and I'll come for him. Oh and tell him that Ella found out all on her own and she's completely ok with it. She made me feel like a complete idiot because I didn't see it myself."

She laughed nervously. "I think I really should be freaking out right now, going to the rescue for you and declaring anything and anybody insane but guess what? It seems it's really only me still not wanting to accept that it's all true."

She laughed again. "In the end, it seems everything might be ok after all, doesn't it?"

Dan smiled gently. "You have always been a deeply rooted realist, haven't you? No room for wonders or marvels out there. Must be hard to open this view to the world we have now. I've always believed. I think I simply need to adjust the believing part a bit."

He laughed at Lucifer's perplexed face. "You go on Chloe, everything will be fine. Bye there."

The other one hesitated, for a moment it seemed she wanted to say something but then she settled with a short "bye" from herself and ended the call.

Lucifer merely sat there in a rush of feelings. He tried to sort them out but now it was his turn to shake his head and not deal with stuff. Dan simply waited. He knew the other had heard all that had been said.

"Sooo," he started tiredly, "you staying the night?"

Dan shrugged his shoulders. "Guess so."

"Shall I order a new sofa?" the other carefully inquired.

"As long as you don't overstep I think the bed will do" Dan shrugged again.

"I'd usually take that as a challenge," the devil quipped with his usual sardonic smile awaking again. "But under this circumstance, I think I might make an exception just for you."

Dan snorted and wordlessly went on with his task.

Going through the motions , sometimes it was the best one could do.


	6. Love is meant for eternity

Love is Meant for Eternity

They didn't meet up the next day, and not the day after.

Chloe just wasn't ready yet. After they had sorted everything out and the investigation had been closed she had planned to do as she had promised: be a good friend. But she was drowned in sudden feels of insecurity and uneasiness when she thought about …the whole situation.

The progress had reached a dead end in the shortest time of police history despite the full deployment of anybody even remotely useful. Without more clues, no one could tell who killed Lieutenant Pierce. His criminal activities were fully revealed and there simply were too many possible suspects who might want to kill the Sinnerman. It was believable that no one but he and the murderer had been there to see the outcome of the obvious fight Pierce must have been in to receive all of his several injuries consistent with being attacked as well as having attacked.

None of the involved showed the injuries they would inevitably have if they'd fought the dead man.

The feathers and blood were a riddle no one could explain. The examination had been rushed and every other case had been pushed back in the queue to examine all samples as fast as possible. After Ella had claimed the evidence tainted they had been sent to another lab and the only thing they could confirm was that they were organic material and held DNA. In the end, the other institute as well came to the conclusion the evidence had to be damaged or tainted since they could not find any known matches to anything.

Learning about the results only made Chloe even more upset. It was all true. She had told Lucifer that he wasn't the devil, not to her and she wanted to know who he really was.

Well, now she had to wrap her head around the fact he was the devil. It wasn't that she had to accept that Lucifer was the devil, but she had to accept that the devil was not what she had thought him to be.

She reminisced a lot these days. The way she treated him, the way he treated her ….and especially the way she had scolded him again and again. Had she known what he really was she would not have dared…. well, let's say in these moments she realized why he hadn't tried harder to prove her he didn't lie.

Still, she had no idea how to proceed.

Today she had spoken to Maze and Linda who holed up together, learning about what had happened and for the first time realizing that the roomie she had allowed to babysit her daughter was a soulless demon.

Great. Talking about things getting even more complicated.

But while she realized the new fact, she also understood that it only mattered as long as she didn't see Maze. As soon as she was with her, she simply became the person she had always known although some things were much more understandable now.

The third day after the revelation Ella had gone to the apartment to check on Dan and send her absolutely silly pictures she had sneakily shot of Dan looking deeply annoyed, face wearing an expression with the mouth opened as if he was giving the devil a tongue-lashing like he did to his daughter while rubbing some lotion beneath feathers on angel wings while Lucifer was looking like a dog enduring a bath against his will.

It was so hilarious in its domesticity while also being just so shocking the same time she felt her mind get lost in confusion again.

Dan stayed in the devil's lair the whole four days before finally agreeing to go home and see Dr Linda instead. Ella had talked to him while he was with Lucifer and told her how strange it was to see them going along so well but there was a serious bromance growing.

It seemed that Dan had decided that to become sociable, a millennia-old entity needed nothing but a brotherly friend to explain things to him. And he obviously decided he'd be best suited to become that brotherly friend and tutor the devil how humans work. She herself had claimed to know the man, had claimed to be there for Lucifer whatever happened and now it was Dan who discussed the finer matters of humanity with the devil while eating ice cream. Great.

She really had the feeling that things were nuts.

At least now she knew why everybody went to Doctor Linda after all. No other psychiatrist could possibly be able to handle not only people who tried to figure out how to deal with the devil but also dealing with the 'deeds' of that devil himself. Still, she could not bring herself to go to her for help too.

She was just stalling. Feeling guilty that it was Dan of all people to help with the injuries, to reassure Lucifer, to be a friend and still not being able to do anything about it.

Today when she learned that Dan had moved out again she realized she had to deal with it but still she could not go. She hated herself for it and didn't even really know why but still she was caught in pure inactivity. Pulled from an impulse at one moment just to be thrown back to a completely opposite one the next. She was a coward.

She sat brooding in front of the TV when she realized how late it was. Trixie had to be tucked in. She sighed and got up to look for her suspiciously quiet daughter.

But the kid wasn't there. There was a note on the bed and all of a sudden she felt all her blood rush from her head in an instant.

Lucifer was lazily playing a random tune on his piano. He was alone again and could no longer deny the uneasiness growing in his heart. She had promised she'd come and he still thought Chloe Decker was not a woman to break her word but now it had been four days and he could not deny he'd become antsy.

Still, he'd promised he'd be waiting here so that's what he would do.

When the elevator opened he didn't allow himself to hope. Nope, not him. It probably was Daniel again, having decided he needed more explaining or Ella who had another immediate and pressing question or quip to share. A smile tugged at his mouth at the thought. He yearned for the acceptance of the woman he…. had learned to appreciate so much but he had to admit, having friends like those two wasn't bad either.

He almost jumped when the small frame of the spawn latched onto his hip all of a sudden. She clung to him wordlessly while staring sadly at the piano keys.

"Hey spawn!" he masked his surprise with nonchalance. "What are you doing here?"

She tilted her head to lean it against his side and sighed. People seemed to do that most of the time nowadays around him and it wasn't the exiting sort of sights he mused.

"Have you and mommy had a fallout?" She muttered so quietly he could barely make out what she was saying. "She's behaving so strange. Don't you ever talk to each other again?"

"I… I…" he stammered. He didn't know what to say. It surely wasn't his place to explain things to her. If her mother could not deal with him being what he was, how could she?

He sighed to himself. "It's not so easy child." He finally responded. "You see, sometimes we learn something about people and it is hard to deal with what you've learned."

"Just like it was with me and Maze?" she said. "I would be friends with her again if she said sorry." The little critter went on. "Can't you just say sorry and make it good?"

He put an arm around her and briskly hugged her to his side. "It's not so easy little one. It's not something I have said." He contemplated. "It's not even something I have done. Well, not exactly."

He took his arm away and continued playing the melancholic tune he had when she came in.

"She does not know how to deal with me anymore now that she knows who I really am and that I cannot simply change."

She looked at him thoughtfully.

Before she could say anything else he startled. "How comes you're here? Your mom would be furious if she knew!" He exclaimed. "We have to call your father and let him take you home before…"

The opening of the elevator doors interrupted him. It was Chloe, she stumbled in with vigour just to stop in her track as if frozen in place, staring at them with an unreadable expression on her face.

He looked at her not daring to move. Finally, he muttered as calm as possible: "Come on Trixie, just go to your mom now." He turned away, trying to appear as unthreatening as possible. The surge of desperation cut through his heart like a sword.

The child's arms tightened around his waist. "You said my name!" She said a little louder. A smile exploding on her face. "So we are friends after all aren't we?" He looked down at her and a sad smile tugged on his mouth again. Tentatively he looked back at Chloe who still stood at the same spot. Her face still mostly unreadable but apparently torn with emotions.

He looked straight into his partner's eyes and let all the love he had denied for so long flood into his heart, surging through his body. He realized he didn't regret anything. Whatever happened, whatever she would decide, he would not change a thing. He still would allow himself to be drawn by her like a moth to a flame and he'd do everything all over again uncaring for the cost if only she was safe.

"Of course we are and as long as it is up to me, I will be your friend whatever it takes." He addressed the little one as much as the woman in front of him. He meant it. And when it came to Chloe he meant this and more.

Her breath hitched and she finally sagged somewhat out of her rigid posture. The next moment she threw herself at him and for a second he expected an attack but then her arms were thrown around him in a crushing hug he could barely return. His heart fluttered. He held her as if she was the most fragile thing in the world, still not daring to hope at the least (or "hope in the least").

"I know," she sobbed, "I've always known."

He didn't even realize the tears were sneaking out of his eyes when he closed them and hugged her tight.

She let out a suppressed laugh. "I know you never lie." He chuckled back, feeling the child's arms sneaking around them both and her face burrowing between them.

The spawn hadn't been such a nuisance after all.

Chloe thought she would go crazy. When she found the note simply telling her that her beloved daughter missed her friend Lucifer and she was going to see him say goodbye at least since it seemed her Mom was too angry and wouldn't bring him home ever again,

she had been torn.

On one side there was nothing left than mom-mode: her daughter was on her way to a creature of religious mysticism, attributed with all evil in the world! A monster older than time and earth itself! Lucifer was the damned Devil incarnate and her daughter wished to see him again! How could that happen?

On the other side, her own words echoed through her head: You will always be just Lucifer to me. I trust you. Nothing you could ever tell me will change that. He was her friend. He had been hurt because of her. Could have died because of her.

No, for her. He was willing to die for her. She desperately tried to reach a consent (balance? An accord?) between both sides and reason with panic-mom. But the result was…

Nothing.

The way to LUX flew by without her even comprehending. Her brain was confused and muddled. In her mind, his face twisted back and forth between what she always knew and what she had just learned. After her arrival at LUX the elevator never seemed to go slower before and when it finally came to a stop she all but tumbled out of the cabin ready to strike, her brain still completely jumbled so she didn't even know what she would do.

The sight froze her on the spot. All the different emotions coming to a halt when she saw her daughter on the piano with the man who was not just a man.

His sad, gentle profile, the way he looked down on her, the trustful way her daughter was leaning on him with her arms thrown around him in such a casual matter.

Her mind still tried to rationalize the irrational but seeing him like this she simply knew for a fact:

That was who he really was, it was the first time she really, really saw the true 'him'.

And she realized that she was sure he'd never harm her daughter, no way how irrational and clashing with her perception of reality this knowledge was, she still trusted in it.

She saw his face, the deep-rooted sadness in it. The loneliness that had always lain between the surfaces. "Come on Trixie, just go to your mom now." He murmured softly. When he turned away she clearly saw the utter forlornness ingrained into his whole posture.

It was her fault, she realized, she had done this to him and now her heart ached.

"You said my name!" the awe on the face on her daughter mirrored the expression she had seen on his face when she'd promised him she'd come to him eventually, and she remembered how it had somewhat faltered when she was telling him needing time to sort it all out. With a little surprise, she realized, what Trixie had said was true. He usually used notions when he spoke to her directly. "So we are friends after all aren't we?" She felt a sting in her heart when she heard the appreciation and hope in her voice. She loved that man as a friend in her life. She simply loved him, without questioning what he was, the love only a child could give. Unconditionally and pure.

Fearless.

She watched him when he turned again, the sadness still visible, but there was something else too. Something she had felt when she allowed herself a moment of awe holding a relatively unharmed feather in Ella's lab. She suddenly realized he felt the same wonder when it came to her that she felt for him in her clear moments. She could not believe it but she realized, whatever it was when it concerned her it amazed him as if she was the miracle of his life, he behaved as if she was a mythological phenomenon and not he. For the first time, she realized the full impact of the truth. He was the devil, for eternities incarcerated with the sinners and the evil, made a watchdog over the depraved who had wasted what he craved. He had never known anything but contempt or greed when it came to him whenever he had revealed himself. She remembered some cases when suspects all of a sudden were driven crazy after being with him. He probably never had someone who had deserved his trust. Still, he had tried again. Had tried and trusted her. He considered her to be better than she was, modelling himself after her example and her demands.

While she still stared at him he smiled just the slightest and answered her daughter while looking into her eyes and she just knew it was meant for her. He surely did not lie to Trixie but he meant her when he said:

"Of course we are and as long as it is up to me, I will be your friend whatever it takes."

And finally, she could accept the truth. The whole truth.

It was all true. Everything he had ever said, everything was absolutely true.

All the tension left her. She flung herself into his arms. She could not believe it had taken her that long.

"I know," she sobbed, "I've always known."

She felt her daughter embrace them both. He was their friend and maybe even more. Even if she did not realize it till the very last moment.

"I love you." She said and she just knew it was true. She hadn't wanted it, she had denied it but it had been there for a long time now. "I don't know how, and I don't know what you are to me exactly, but I do, I really do love you."

She held him when his silent crying turned into sobs. She felt the bone-crushing power he possessed, barely held back in his relief but still kept in check for her benefit and her daughters. He was still protecting them.

"I love you too."

It took a while to get accustomed to each other for real this time. The significant evening had bound them together but still, it wasn't easy to love the Devil. He definitely couldn't be measured with human standards. On one side, his morality was above everything she'd ever known. He had a sense for fairness and justness like no one else she knew. On the other side, things she'd consider immoral or depraved where nothing to be ashamed of when it came to him.

For example, she soon realized he'd never been able to grasp the concept of monogamy since love and sex simply where two completely unrelated things in his mind.

He had sex like other people had a sport. No that didn't even slightly match the true meaning it had to him. From where he stood, sex equalled freedom. It was pure joy. Another language he was fluent in, something to connect with… everybody willing. A concept he regarded highest within the human world and was determined to share with as many people as possible. Shame or modesty were things he found absolutely ridiculous. Whoever wanted him would get him as long as they were honest and deemed worthy. He claimed naked, lusty people were as close to paradise on earth as mankind possibly could get. Careless and free people should share their bodies and the joy it brought to them, and so he practised sex like a prayer and nothing could deter this …'commitment'. After a while, even she could not find any more reasons to throw at him he could not eloquently debunk as false modesty so she gave up.

It was hard to accept but she finally got to terms with it when she realized that showing himself to be faithful to her by refraining from having sex would be meaningless because for his standards he wasn't unfaithful even while having orgies.

Besides, he was insatiable, his inhuman stamina far too much for any mortal to endure and satisfy all alone. When he tried to stay chaste to her just because she had nagged too much, he even showed symptoms of withdrawal and soon she just told him to be who he is and just stopped thinking too hard about it.

On the other hand, his loyalty to her was unbreakable. He did not just love her, he adored her. In his mind, she simply couldn't do anything wrong and she had to correct that as well.

She had wronged him. She had known him and how generous and selfless a friend he was but his devilish traits had biased her perception of him. But after she had learned the truth, she should have just accepted him like he was, appreciating his good traits more, putting his flaws into perspective just like Dan and Ella had done. But she hadn't wanted to. It hurt to admit it and she felt ashamed. It would have been so easy to let it go and to bask in the adoration he threw at her but she realized how much it would hurt him.

The distorted image mankind had of him had seriously disturbed his self-awareness. He saw himself as a monster. She could not call herself his friend and tell him she loved him if she let her shame dictate her actions and let him live further with this belief.

It wasn't only sex he saw from a completely different point of view. He was a huge fan of free will and self-responsibility so the concept of protecting someone from their own mistakes or desires by rules and laws definitely was beyond his grasp but at least she could make him understand that parents were meant to protect their children and teach them how to care for themselves without letting them destroy their bodies in the process. After that, he was really helpful when it came to Trixie and no longer sabotaging her attempts to raise a decent child. His inputs even making it easier.

It definitely did help to know that even god and goddess weren't the best parents at all but still had been able to produce somebody as …decent as him. She admitted she had to rethink her concept of decency but it definitely was the only word to describe what he was.

And after all, the way he was made her family bigger. Despite his still incredibly stubborn way of pushing people away sometimes, after he had allowed himself to trust and love she realized for the first time how much and unnecessary mankind restricted a resource as endless as love. He was not only quite charming when he allowed himself to become attached to somebody his love was frighteningly intense, while still pure and absolutely unconditional. He just loved. He loved Dan, Ella, Linda, Trixie and even Maze with an intensity that needed some getting used too. He did not just want them to be friends, he wanted them as part of his new family. He was building a world around them, tying them together in a way she'd never thought possible. She found a more personal closeness with those people he loved then she'd ever believed imaginable. She didn't just have a Devil to love, she also found new common ground with her ex-husband, a 'random' lab tech and a doctor. After he knew she loved him, he simply believed in her. No connection she had or connected ever made him doubt her and there was no more envy between them. That way it was surprisingly easy to fit whomever she wanted into her life.

The way he loved her felt almost scorching. But after she accepted it she realized this was the only way a creature like him was able to love.

He was immortal if not hurt around her and so everything about him, even his love was built for eternity.

There was the day he stood in his penthouse looking skywards. Silent tears streaked down his face. It had been Trixie's birthday and someone had said how fast she grew up and they couldn't believe she'd soon become a woman. When hearing this he had excused himself and just gone.

She had followed him back to his penthouse (she'd not even tried to explain to him that it was common for couples to move in together and be a couple, it just seemed absurd). His wings now gently flexed while he stood at the railing of the balcony and again her initial anger about his sudden flight subsided when she was overwhelmed by love. She slowly realized he usually had a surprisingly good reason for what he did. Even if his actions sometimes seemed immature.

She sighed and walked over to him.

"When this life is over, I won't be able to see you ever again." He murmured when she came closer. "All of you will grow older and finally die, after that you will go to the silver city, the others will too, and if I have to give everything that they will. But I can't…"

His breath hitched and she simply embraced him, held him close.

"Then we will have to make the best of the time we have." She said.

He smiled sadly, kissing her hand and leaned into her embrace.

"Just promise me that you will find someone else." She said. "I do not wish you to become jaded and cruel like Cain was. You deserve being loved. Others will come and love you after me. There will always be people you can love and who will love you. And as we both learned, love is a well that never runs out."

He chuckled against her neck and embraced her.

"I promise I'll try," he replied softly.

"But I have to say I just know, I can't love anybody ever again the way I love you."

She had feared that, but hearing it burned her with sorrow for him so she swore to herself she would keep him forever. She would have him with her, no one should dare to come between them.

Not even God.


	7. Unruly siblings made me do it!

7- Extra-Unruly siblings made me do it!-Ella and Lucifer go to Reunion

"But Lucy..." a scrathing voice insisted.

"I said no!" a gruff voice replied. "Under no circumstances can you make me.."

"Plllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy_iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii_!"

The childlike voice raised to a screeching crescendo unbearable to any halfway hearing being, even more so for any even remotely musical one.

"Stop screeching like a barn owl! Ok! Ok I'll do it! Happy now?"

The smaller of the two figures smiled radiating before wrapping the bigger one in a suffocating hug.

"Thank you big brother! I just know she will be soooo happy! It will be the fulfilment of one of her oldest fantasies!" the voice was still excided but for the sake of the other the screeching tone had been abandoned.

The other one just huffed and drowned his drink. He knew he was going to regret this.

Ella was tinkering alone in her Lab. She completely ignored the envelope sitting on an edge back there. She pretended it wasn't there. Still she had taken it with her, not knowing what to do with it. She had an impulse to just ignore it.

But then…

The woman huffed and continued with her work, unwilling to think about that envelope and its contents without really being able to do so.

"Hey Ella!" she was startled by the cheerful voice cutting into her train of thought and concentration like a hot knife in butter, "what are you… oh hello there!" She turned around so fast she almost gave herself whiplash. There was Lucifer holding the opened envelope, looking at the headline of the invitation.

"What are you… give that to me!" She grabbed for the paper but he easily avoided her by simply holding it up a little higher.

"Highschool reunion! Dare me what a great thing to do! I'm all in for it if you don't already have a partner." Lucifer beamed at her so radiant it stopped her in an instant.

The image seeped into her mind, she saw herself, descending out of one of his silly expensive cars, clinging self-confident to the arm of the biggest eye candy anyone could bring back to a reunion. All those cruel bitches would simply fall over with envy if she brought him…. she, the nerdy lab-geek, carrying a catch like this on her arm as if it were nothing.

A somewhat wicked smile spread on her face when she looked up to the devil's face.

"I might be inclined to take you if you could pretend for one evening to be my boyfriend..." she drew the last words letting them hang in the air as if they were a question."

He smiled back at her as if she'd given him a gift. "And being the prize you can brag with in front of your friends? My pleasure!"

The reunion had hung so depressingly over her head she didn't even question herself why it should be such an interesting thing for the devil to go to a high school reunion.

Nor did she see his thoughtful expression when she turned aside already blabbing on how much fun it would be and how much she had dreaded going all alone while also not wanting to miss the opportunity to maybe even see her few friends again.

It wasn't that a long ride to Detroit, but he could sense that the forensic analyst was still stunned that he didn't simply fly there and made it a weekend. Which would have surprised her enough so she said, but with the blessing of Cloe he had decided to make it something really special or not doing it at all. So here they were, on a road trip to Detroit of all places and of course, it hadn't been a straight one.

It occurred to him that his sister hadn't meant for him to go in fully but he enjoyed Ella's company and had lately felt the urge to get out of a life becoming a tad bit too domestic, so a two week trip by car over Vegas and Dallas seemed just the right thing to do. He was surprised though, that neither Ella nor Cloe had been much objective to the crazy out of nothing idea.

It showed how much his love trusted him and how much his sister was right, Ella needed something splendid to brag about on her reunion.

He definitely loved the pretty and shallow ones and bathed in their adoration but he started to appreciate the special worth of someone like Ella and the more and more he got to know her the more he understood how much more deserving of adoration she really was.

No wonder his sister liked her so much. It had been a fun time par excellence. Ella was right up for any mischief or silly idea he brought up and even thought up some stuff he never thought about himself.

It was just like …. Being with his little sister had been. Playing pranks, eating too much food, playing more pranks and tricks, simply having fun.

The trunk was filled with the most extravagance clothing they could have found and when they finally arrived in Detroit they spend a great part of last day before the reunion laughing and joking while choosing what to wear.

In between she went and visited her family and he had stayed obediently behind after she almost begged him not to make things even more complicated by invading into her family. He didn't realize it but it showed his growth that he respected her wishes. He even restrained himself from going out and partying to not disturb their great appearance.

The next day when he saw her he actually was nearly as flattened by her stunning view as he had been when he first saw her like this in Vegas. The tight, figure hugging designer-dress was amazing and went perfectly with his three piece Armani. A look at the mirror proved they were quite a sight.

Her face fell when he gifted her with the key to her favourite Porsche.

"It's not just for today." He smiled at her, "it's for you to have a memory of today that lasts. Besides, what a sight if you got out from the driver's seat."

To heighten the effect they came a little late. The valet barely dared to touch the keys, he drove away so slowly it was almost ridiculous.

Their entry was splendid. The woman who handed the badges could not stop ogling them. Of course they were highly overdressed.

"E-Ella?" The blonde beauty standing at the entrance handing out the badges looked as if she was in a not so pleasant dream, her very low cut and moderately expensive dress paling in front of the glittering red dream Ella was wearing. The hotel they'd chosen to hold the reunion was nice but nothing more. The people were pale and silly in comparison.

They made their entrance and it was clear the rift between different people was big. Ella had told him that she had went to a somewhat shady middle school and grown up in a less than perfect neighbourhood but went to a good high school and college due to some scholarships. Not high end schools but still some of her classmates had made it clear she didn't belong in their eyes.

Now she was dancing happily with the devil himself, enjoying the envious looks she earned while chatting amicably in between with the people she had liked back then.

He pulled back after a while, watching her interact surrounded by hideously pretentious decoration and people of all kind of occupations when he was approached by the blonde from the start.

"Hey gorgeous! Whatcha doing here all alone? All'dy enough of our little nerd?" The woman slurred slightly but one could see she could hold her liquor.

"Oh no, how could I? She's gorgeous isn't she?" he turned fully to Ella and shot her an admiring glance. "I've never met a more positive person in my whole life! She has a personality which could enchant even the angel of death."

The woman contemplated him for a moment before she snorted quite undignified. "Yeah, as if you'd go for personality."

Lucifer looked at her in disbelieve.

He started to say something but then he simply decided it wasn't worth the while. He turned away from her and went to Ella, sweeping her away to the dance floor.

They were struggling back to their room, Ella being tipsy from too much punch and an amazing evening, he trying to get her back in one piece without grabbing too hard.

When they entered the two room suit Ella fell against him.

"You know I always wanted a cuddling night with you just like Dan?" She inquired.

"You're drunk," he laughed, "What the hell do you mean?"

"I mean like, you know, when he stayed at the penthouse, after your comig out as a badass hells angel," she giggled at her own bad pun. "You let him cuddle with you!"

She turned around and clung to his neck. "I want too. I've always dreamt of something like this. It would be so … magical!" She giggled again.

"Hadn't the evening been magical enough already?" He inquired.

She just giggled uncontrollably. Lucifer looked behind her. Looked into the eyes of his little sister hiding from her this time. "Maybe it is not my place to make this dream come true. Maybe someone should have the cohones to tell you the truth after all."

She shook her head in denial and tried to get away but despite the intoxicated woman in his arms, this time he was faster. Ella's eyes went wide when she saw him grabbing her 'ghost' out of thin air. This time adorned with pretty big wings she'd never shown before.

Azrael looked as stunned as Ella. Lucifer roughly pulled them both in a protective embrace.

I love you both, and I see dear sister, why you wanted me to be friends with her. She's definitely more than I'd ever thought I deserved. But she needs you dear and you need her so don't you dare to just leave her again."

With that he simply left the room and left the two woman staring at each other.

It took some shouting and a lot of suspicious noises but finally the commotion died down. When he finally allowed himself a glimpse he found them in the bed, cuddling under angels wings.

Ella had her weekend were all wishes came true.


	8. I have a Dream, I wish will come true

I have a Dream...

It had been a hard day in the precinct. They all had worked so hard to find a little girl gone missing. But when they had found her, it had been too late. Even with the help of the devil they hadn't been able to rescue the girl before the paedophile who took her had killed her after… well, Dan didn't want to think about it. Not one of them wanted to think about it.

Lucifer had not been able to hold himself back. The man who had done it now sat babbling and drooling in a padded cell and Dan was glad he was this way. Hearing him blurt out his deepest desire when Lucifer and Cloe had interrogated him had been horrible. Seeing Lucifer's despair when he realized their assumed witness was responsible and that despair turning into a rage when he had realized what the man had done had been … disturbing to say the least. And his face…

It had been the first time Daniel had seen his true face. He now understood why Chloe had needed more time to come to terms with her partner's identity. It was horrible. The heat radiating from him, the scorched flesh and the burning eyes were frightening and now Dan felt deeply unsettled. Till now despite everything he had seen more of the angel in his friend than the devil. Now he realized what it meant when Lucifer had said it was not simply his duty to punish the wicket, but that he was made for it.

Dan slowly left the elevator and went on towards the balcony, where Lucifer stood in all his human glory; no sign of anything supernatural on him. When he reached him he stopped right next to him and stayed quiet. He had come with the intention to reconnect but now he was at a loss for words.

"I really don't understand people sometimes" Lucifer murmured softly, "how could you humans misuse your gift so much? Why have you been given free will but such distorted morals? You judge me for my lifestyle, calling it unhealthy and immoral, but on the other hand…" his voice drifted off, he had never turned his head.

Dan snorted out a bitter laughter. "Why do you think I know?" This got him at least a look from the other, while it was his turn to stare at the amazing skyline of Los Angeles at night.

"It is a common question among humans why God let us do it. Some attribute all evil to hell and … well, you but it seems it all comes from us; deep out of ourselves. How am I to know why?"

Dan sighed. "It's not all of us though. There are so many decent people out there. For a fact, there are far more decent people than monsters out there. Thank…" he stopped himself. This common phrase seemed quite unfit right now.

Lucifer seemed a bit calmer now.

"Maybe that's it." Dan mused on. "Maybe that's what it's all about. It is more valuable to do good if one can choose what to do…"

Now it was Lucifer's turn to snort a sarcastic laughter but he let it stand like this.

Right now any explanation was as good as the other. They would never know. Lucifer had already told them that his father never explained anything to anyone.

For a while, they kept standing at the rail of the balcony before Dan stepped forward and gazed at the stars barely visible above the city lights.

"Did you know that what angels seem to have is what we often dream of?" he went on. "Having a duty clearly laid out, knowing what is expected and being sure only to do right? And then you come, fighting everything we thought to know about angels and the devil, showing us that maybe, just maybe we might have gotten off better in the end despite all the bad things happening. Letting us know that there really is hell and helping those guys to feel the regret that's needed to have them punished in hell, knowing that there is a silver city where the victims will have heaven."

Dan paused and looked at his friend. "You've really given those of us who know now a gift." he went on. "You made it easier to bear all the cruelty and horrors mankind is capable of."

Lucifer still looked stiff but less so as when Dan had come in.

"What are dreams other than silly projections anyway" Dan concluded his heartfelt speech.

"They are nothing at all"

The fallen angel laughed at that and turned away. "If you just knew how wrong you are but not today." He murmured to himself before he turned back to the Detective.

"And to which particular dream do you refer to right now?" He inquired.

He was not very surprised to see the other turn an interesting shade of red. Since they had become friends he had gotten a much better feeling for his favorite douche. Sometimes he was so easy to see through.

"I-I …. Nothing at all it was just a…" Dan stammered until he interrupted him. "Don't finish that sentence, you know how much I hate a lie. Come on…" Lucifer bowed forward and looked deeply into the eyes of the other. "You know it is futile to try and keep your desires from me, don't make me do it!"

They both knew he wouldn't, not anymore but it was too much fun to tease.

Daniel looked at the sky again, "I always wondered why you don't fly more often, why you don't use that particular freedom to flee reality just for a while. I've always wondered how it feels…" He let the idea hang between them. "It is an old dream to be able to leave earth behind, you know. I wonder if it is the last remnant of some kind of collective recollection of angels. Striving to reach the stars."

The devil looked at the man. "You mean it?" he inquired curiously.

Dan didn't turn again but he could see the blush becoming even deeper. "It's all I could think of since I knew you had real wings. How it might feel to simply… take off."

Lucifer looked at the back of his head deep in thought.

Daniel felt embarrassed. How could he have turned the talk towards this direction right now? Yes, it had irked him for a while but a day like today surely wasn't the right moment to tell those kinds of dreams to the fallen angel. It had been a rather clumsy attempt to show the man that people had rather nice desires after the corrupt one he had experienced today but right now he feared the other might misunderstand the intent. He really didn't want to give his friend the impression he expected anything from him. He started to turn and make that clear when he was surprised by a sudden move from the other before he could even blink.

With impressive speed and the elegance of a cat, Lucifer had all of a sudden turned and grabbed him, holding him at the hips now being so close to him they could kiss. The next moment Dan was caught in a tight embrace, the barely veiled strength almost suffocating him when the devil pulled him close into his arms. He barely registered what the other was doing before he found himself with his arms slung around the other's neck when Lucifer couched before he strongly pushed both of them up, his wings bursting from his back in all their divine splendor and before the human could even grasp what was happening he had taken off.

It was even more splendid and frightening than Dan could ever have dreamt of. It was a rush of wind and movement. Lucifer didn't dwell long, he just raced closely above the buildings, light and form vanishing in the whirl of their movement. Soon they had passed the outer city borders and raced over the sea. With the city lights gone. it was as if they were racing through an ocean of stars surrounding them. All Dan could do was cling to the other, the wind was so strong he found it difficult to look and soon tears streamed down his face when he did so anyway. It was as if time had stopped and they were racing in an eternity squeezed into a moment. A blink. The detective could feel the warmth of the man holding him, the steady beating of an inhuman heart against his body while his own heart was racing but his mind stood still. It was amazing.

After what seemed to be forever the angel turned and raced back towards their starting point. He only slowed when they were closest. He spread his wings forward and stopped in a whirl of wind that temporarily knocked the breath from his companion's lungs. A few mighty wingbeats suspended them in the air for a moment before they descended. When Lucifer's feet touched the balcony floor, it was the first time Daniel realized the other was cradling him in his arms for the landing.

When Lucifer finally was standing safely, had tucked his wings away and let him down, he would have fallen if the other had let go. For a while they stood entangled, the celestial letting the human come to his senses, leaning on him for support. Then Dan managed to get it together and move away.

"Was it how you thought it would be?" The inquiry was so calm Dan could barely make it out against his heartbeat still thundering in his ears.

"No." he stated. He turned carefully, unable to mask his shock and wonder as he looked at the other in awe. "It was even better."

He felt much better when he saw Lucifer smile. Maybe his clumsy attempt to take the other's mind off the day had worked after all.


	9. Actions have consequences

9- Extra-Actions have Consequences

"Lucifer! I need your help please!"

Those words were like no other suited to draw him in. Especially if coming from Chloe. So there really had been only one possible answer.

"You know I'll help you whenever I can! What is it I can do for you, Love?"

And who other than he should have known better than being so careless as to agree to a deed before knowing what it contained?

Sullenly he sat in the convertible in front of the school waiting for the spawn. Sure the little critter had been a great help to reconcile with her mother, sure he had admitted he liked her and it was true. But being put up for babysitting not only for an hour, or even a day, but for a whole week was … ridiculous! And he had said so! How could anybody even idly and in passing get the idea the devil would be a passable sitter for a little child? One they cared for!

He could still hear the detective's voice ringing in his ears: "Dan and I together with the whole team will be immersed in this damned intern inspection. They want to make sure there are no unwanted connections left so it'll be better you make yourself unseen at least for a moment. Then we'll get acquainted with the new officers and Lieutenant. You know you have to make a new introduction and I'd prefer to get ahead a bit this time. Then it would be such a big help if I could get some space and stuff off of my back while dealing with this and that won't happen if my mom comes over to take care of Trixie. Maze will be out of town and even if not then I would still have them around. So please be an angel for once and take care of her. For me?"

His resolve had crumbled at this like snow in the desert sun and so here he was, ready to play nanny to the spawn. He had gotten her stuff from home already where Chloe had prepared everything. A strict list of do's and don'ts drilled in his head and a deep dread of what was to be expected to be the most horrid week in existence.

Soon the spawn jumped down the stairs accompanied by a rather delicious looking teacher. For the tiniest moment, he almost smiled but Chloe had been very firm about flirting in her daughter's presence. Not to speak of anything else. He got out of the car to endure the usual enthusiastic greeting and get it over with.

"Lucifer!" the usual bubbly exclamation of his name was accompanied with the also usual assault on his Armani clad legs.

"Hey S- Trixie." He patted her shoulders lightly what earned him a radiant smile. He had to admit it was a rather heart-warming thing to be the recipient of such unconditional affection but it still irritated him. No one had ever reacted to him like this and he still didn't know how to deal with it.

He looked up into the frown of Trixie's teacher. Obviously, his first impression had not been the best. From his now much more intimate dialogues with knowing humans, he had learned a lot more about human customs and he tried to see himself from her point of view though. He saw a young, impressible child clinging to the legs of what looked like a mixture of a playboy and a drug lord in front of a high-end sports car. He sighed. He had told Chloe no one with a sane mind would think him to be the best choice to care for her spawn. But she had countered that was only because they didn't know him better.

Now he tried one of his less radiant smiles on the approaching woman.

"So you are Lucifer Morningstar." She managed to pronounce his name so one could hear the cursive on it.

Just to be sure he kept smiling. "Yes, that I am," he answered docilely which earned him a surprised look from the kid. The teacher was still not impressed. "Could I see your form please?"

He took it from his inner vest pocket together with his I.D., happy that Chloe had prepared him well. He did not want to disappoint her, however opposed he might be towards this whole ordeal.

She took it and shook her head. "Unbelievable." she murmured. "I'd never thought Mrs Decker to be one of those reckless mommies."

"Excuse me." now he got annoyed. "What do you refer to, please? The detective is a close friend of mine and I would prefer you to keep your opinions in check while in the presence of her ... daughter. "

He could have hit himself for the hitch but he was furious. Unconsciously he had taken a step towards her and despite all guardedness, he could not prevent a little of his true self seeping through. No one should dare to judge the detective in his proximity. Only the still firm hold of the spawn on his trousers held him back.

The woman looked up at him in uneasiness. She definitely felt something radiating from him and he could see her consciously dismissing it. She opened her mouth but Lucifer didn't let her continue.

"Be sure the detective will learn from this in due time. As for now, none of this arrangement is any of your business and I will not tolerate any berating of this child's mother in her presence. I'd also not recommend doing so in my presence even if the little one is absent."

He gave her a scathing look before he almost ripped the consent form and his I.D. from her hands. Then he wordlessly took the stuff and the child to his car. He carefully settled her in the passenger seat and put the seatbelt on before entering himself. For Chloe's and Trixie's sake he even put on his own however unnecessary this was. Without looking back he started the car and drove away much slower and responsibly as he'd liked. Leaving the woman gaping after him unbeknownst that he had only been angry about how she'd berated Chloe instead of defending himself.

Trixie sat next to him deep in thought. All of a sudden she exclaimed: "Mrs Kempter has always been a really nasty woman."

He calmed down somewhat. "It's not that I don't agree but how exactly do you come by that overall conclusion."

"Well, she always snapped at me when I was talking about you to my friend. She didn't believe me when I first said who you were and even when she got the form that you were going to pick me up after school she didn't apologise. Today was just more of the same."

"Well," he started and found himself at a loss of words. "People generally have a hard time when hearing who I am." He stated. "Your mom didn't believe me for a very long time when I told her first."

Soon they reached Lux. He was instructed not to get her through the bar, even if it was empty, as if it would corrupt her in passing. But he's promised and so he drove into the garage and brought her directly to the penthouse. For his opinion utter nonsense. He didn't understand if the bar was not ok, how his penthouse could be appropriate. It had a bar too after all. Sure he had cleaned out everything her mom would have deemed inappropriate concerning her list in advance but he would not empty his whole setup. She had assured him Trixie knew how to behave herself and not to touch what she wasn't supposed to have. But still, he felt a bit tense.

Soon they reached the safety of his home and he relaxed a little.

"Still I think she didn't have to be that nasty if she doesn't know people," Trixie stated all of a sudden.

And again he was baffled and at a loss for words. To smooth things over and get time to accommodate he told her to start homework. For that he stored her safely away on his desk in the bureau he used if he could no longer get around paperwork while he started to prepare her dinner. Chloe had given him a list of things her spawn could eat for regular dinner and what were considered treats. She had been a bit lenient with him after he argued if she wanted this to go fine she would have to grant him at least a little freedom to have fun in this section and begrudgingly she had granted it. He burned to find out how the critter would react to home-made fries and pudding.

He could not tell exactly why but cooking was one of his passions. Maybe it was because well-cooked food was its own form of seduction. He hoped cooking for the spawn might give him some reprieve during the next day. Soon he was fully immersed with his self-set task and hummed to himself while preparing dinner.

"Is it spelt right this way? O-b-n-o-x-i-o-u-s?"

He almost threw the potatoes at her when he whirled around and found the spawn on the kitchen counter. He could not fathom how she always managed to sneak by him in this manner. How long had she been sitting there?

"Bloody hell, spawn! Didn't anybody ever tell you not to sneak up on the devil?" He exclaimed.

She looked innocently at him. "I didn't know I could," she replied with a puckish laugh. "Why don't you work in the office"? He asked. "Wouldn't it be lots more comfortable and… quiet?" He inquired carefully.

"No it's just lonely", she stated and looked down on her homework. "So, how do I spell obnoxious?"

He felt disarmed again. "It was right as you said it earlier." he forced out at least.

"Hum, good." She looked down on her work again and started scribbling.

So there she was. And here he was; on edge. Although he had to admit it wasn't as bad as he'd feared. She just sat there working, occasionally asking how to spell this or how to phrase that but otherwise almost ignorable. It took a while to prepare everything and in his nervousness, he almost burned the fries but in the end, he put everything on the kitchen counter and lowered himself on one of the high stools next to her. She had already put her homework aside and looked curiously at the spread. Soon she nibbled on a first fry and declared them delicious, which prompted her to start trying everything else in no discernible order. This would have been bearable if not for her amicable chatter about all sorts of stuff. Soon he knew about her best friends and how one had said this and others had said that. He tried to listen carefully but it was hard not to simply shut her off. He hmmd and hmm hmmd in what he hoped to be the right places when all of a sudden she again caught him off guard.

"If you really are the devil, how comes you're not evil?" she asked all of a sudden.

He almost choked on his chicken bite when she asked this. Again he had to scramble for words. Quite an unusual feeling for someone who spoke any given language.

"Why do you think the devil has to be evil?" He asked back after a while. Oh damn Chloe! He thought. You should have seen this coming! He didn't know how he should deal with this if the spawn would find out while alone with him. They all had agreed to let the child find out in her own time if she ever but not to reveal the truth forcefully. He had been instructed to hold back a little though.

She put her head aside and thoughtfully chewed a potato wedge. "Well, everybody says so. If the devil isn't evil then what's he there for?"

He mulled how to phrase his answer. "The devil is the consequence of peoples' actions," he said at last.

"Can you explain that to me?" The fork she held was forgotten. She was fascinated now. He realized he had caught himself in a corner on the very first day with no way out.

"Well you see, when … when God made mankind, he gave them free will the possibility to choose. Mankind is made to do what they want."

He paused a little. It was a difficult topic to speak about. This had been a sore point all his life after all.

"But you see, every decision you make has consequences. That is why, when you think about what you want, you should think about the consequences and if you still want it even if you have to bear them." He said.

"But after a while, people stopped caring for the consequences they received in life so I guess there was a need to punish them if they did wrong."

Again she ate a few bites and he realized eating helped her get space to think the way cooking helped him in this way.

"Mr Lieberman told us in Sunday class that the devil was an angel punished for opposing God." She said after a while. "I've always wondered how he could fight God if he had no free will. So would you say it was God himself who made him fight so he could punish him as an example for us? So we know that what we do will have consequences?"

He felt as if all of a sudden the floor had vanished beneath his feet. Hot and cruel memories flooded his mind. Could that be? Could that really be the reason? And if it was, what would it mean for him? His mind reeled with the sudden revelation. He had no chance to sort his feelings concerning this right now. He had to focus, for the child and for Chloe. He fought hard to get back to his senses. He could not lose it here, right in front of the spawn. He gasped for air once and then forced out:

"I really don't know little one. I really don't know."

After dinner, the spawn had finished her homework and then retreated to the guest room he'd had prepared for her spreading her stuff. He had wondered why Dan hadn't retreated to one of those in that first night he didn't know how to get out of the penthouse but shrugged it off. Right now he himself was so confused with thoughts he could relate to the irrational behaviour of the other that significant night. Maybe Dan had just not gotten the idea to venture further into the loft and discover the further rooms behind the admittedly not obvious passage.

After a while, he did what he'd always do if confused. He sat down on the piano and started to play.

He lost himself in lots of idly tunes. His head was spinning around the spawns words. He had never thought of it like that. But what would it mean? What if it was true? Would it change anything?

The kid was here for only one afternoon and she'd already managed to unhinge him. In this, she was just like her mother. No one had ever unsettled him as much, made him question himself like her. Chloe. The thought of her calmed his mind. Independent of how much his life had fallen apart because of her. After all that had happened only the thought of her helped to ground himself again. He would never know for sure. And considering the gift he was given in Chloe and also the others if it really was for their sake that he'd fallen, why should he care? He would have given it willingly had he known what it leads to. Soon his fingers found their way to a tune he had once heard and dismissed as utter nonsense. Soon his splendid voice raised and filled the room.

He thought of Chloe and all of a sudden he knew this song was just right for them.

"What would I do without your smart mouth?

Drawing me in, and you kicking me out"

He thought about her how scathing she had been to him now and then.

"Got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down

What's going on in that beautiful mind?"

Oh yes, she still made him question everything. Whenever he thought he'd figured her out she surprised him again. And if she wasn't, her daughter did.

"I'm on your magical mystery ride

And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright"

While he sang he felt another little insecurity fall like a burden off of his soul. He could do this. He could bear it even if it was true. For them. For her. For his new family.

"My head's under water

But I'm breathing fine

You're crazy and I'm out of my mind"

And wasn't it true? Had there ever been a chance, even with all this new happiness in his life, that he'd ever find peace with himself? That he'd ever felt contentment and even vaguely considered accepting what had been done to him. That he'd accept his own 'punishment'? That maybe…. well maybe he'd even come to realize there might be something worth all that'd happened?

His voice rose above anything mortals had ever heard. His divine heritage broke through when his feelings filled the words with life a human had supplied.

"'Cause all of me

Loves all of you

Love your curves and all your edges

All your perfect imperfections

Give your all to me

I'll give my all to you

You're my end and my beginning

Even when I lose I'm winning

'Cause I give you all, all of me

And you give me all, all of you"

He hit the keys for the last notes and lowered his head when the last tune of the piano faded.

All of a sudden he felt little arms sneaking around his middle. The little one had managed to sneak up on him again. "It was beautiful," she whispered full of awe.

He pulled her up next to him. "Would you like to hear the rest?" She nodded at his side, leaning against him.

He smiled and started the song anew.

Later when she had talked to her mom on the phone, was tucked in and sleeping peacefully he watched her for a while. He felt affection for her, even more so than before. Still, he sighed when thinking of the next day. He wondered how devious the detective had been when asking this from him. How much of this was planned on her side? He smiled gently and leaned the door close.

No child could ever have slept safer than this one, the whole night watched by the devil himself.

When Trixie awoke she soon realized the devil was no early bird. She chuckled when he woke her all messed up and grumpy. When she finally emerged from the bathroom he had already prepared breakfast though. And lunch; far too much lunch. She could have fed half her class but it looked great. She had never had such fancy sandwiches. Surely she would gain some favour if she shared them with her friends.

While she already ate from a table laden with enough food for a whole garrison, he got himself up to his usual impeccable self. When he joined her and started eating she was surprised how much he could stomach, even more than her dad. It was funny watching him stumble around and trying to get it all together, it was obvious he didn't have a morning routine, but soon he caught himself and became just as cheery as she was. It was a first that somebody let her talk along as much as she wants without complaint. He managed to gather everything together and took her to school just in time.

It was fun to be driven by him. He always started to speed and then regulated himself down when he remembered how he had promised her mom not to race when she was in the car. It was like stop and go and she had lots of giggles at his cost. She loved him. He was so unlike any other adult she'd ever known. The evening had been great, but also strange though. She wondered what would happen tonight and decided it probably would be spectacular.

Mrs Kempter was even stranger and nastier than usual. She watched Trixie the whole time. After class, she took her aside and asked about the evening, what she had done. But Trixie had never liked her that much and now she was even less inclined to talk to her. She mostly answered the impertinent questions with yes and no while fidgeting on her chair. When the bell rang she threw a short "bye" at the woman, grabbed her lunchbox and left for break. As she had assumed her lunch was soon the object of envy and she shared freely the massive load after she picked what she found most interesting. The bread was much different than what her mother bought, darker and with rich flavour but she liked it. There were even different sorts of bread in the box instead of just a variety of toppings, cheeses and cuts. Some of the stuff she had never seen before. She kept some of it for later. The other lessons were uneventful. Just that Mrs Heinen too asked her about her current accommodations but since she liked her she talked about it freely this time and willingly answered all questions. She even offered her a taste of her lunch and bathed in the teacher's surprise. Even Mrs Heinen admitted she had never seen some of it before and wondered how Lucifer had gotten to get it for her.

"Well, that's because he doesn't know much about children." She giggled, "so he didn't know what I would like and I guess he just got some of everything he could think of. That's what he does."

She laughed about the surprise in her teachers face. "What does your mother say to this?" Mrs Heinen asked.

"She gave him a list of what I can't have and stuff. And I'm not supposed to trick him." She laughed again, "but I don't have too. Today for breakfast, he made everything I liked all by himself just because it was on the list." She giggled joyfully. "And he helps me with my homework. He really knows almost everything. "

Then she stopped and thought a bit. "Well, sometimes there are quite funny things he says or doesn't know."

"Can you give me an example?" the teacher inquired. Trixie mulled on that for a bit. "He seems to know absolutely nothing about how it is to have parents or being a child." She said.

"And what are the funny things he sometimes says?" inquired the teacher further.

The child thought about that for a while. "That I can't say, it would be telling." she decided.

"Did your friend tell you not to speak of it?" Mrs Heinen pushed a little further.

"Na!" Trixie exclaimed happily, "but when your friend tells you something private about himself you don't tell. Everyone knows that."

The teacher looked strangely at her. "How do you know it is private?" She asked with a hint of curiosity.

"Because he's sad when he says it." Trixie prompted, "Usually he's never sad, only when mom's angry with him. So I'm sure when he gets sad telling me stuff I'm not supposed to share."

"And how do you feel about the things he's telling you?" came the last question.

Again Trixie had to think this over. "That's different. It's mostly interesting. Sometimes it's strange. I don't really understand why it makes him sad though. It's make-believe anyway." She stated at last. With that the teacher let her go.

This time it was Mrs Heinen who went out with her to control the consent form. Trixie found it silly that just because Lucifer was no family member he needed that form to pick her up but was happy that this time it was her favourite teacher who went with her. When they got out Lucifer was already waiting. To her surprise, he caught her in his arms today and returned her hug. He had never done so before and she happily clung to his neck. He held her with much more ease than her father who always complained she was getting too heavy for his. Then he took her hands in his and let her swing on it. Gently he settled her down again. She looked in his face and saw him laughing. Something was different today. Perhaps it was something that probably had changed last night. His laugh was much more… happy. Much more unburdened. It was as if something shined behind his eyes.

She looked up at Mrs Heinen and realized she saw it too. She almost seemed a bit dazzled by the look.

None of them knew that this was the attraction of an angel slowly accepting himself.

The Lightbringer was starting to shine again.

The evening was much like the day before. This time they had pizza. The one he made for her was quite different from what she knew as home-made pizza so far. It was crispy and thin and tasted very nice. She would have thought she wouldn't like it when she saw him start. But she had tasted it nonetheless because it would have been rude not to. To her surprise, it was quite good. Lucifer was quite at ease this time. After they were done he asked her what she'd like to do and she had squealed at the thought of all the possibilities. She had wandered around yesterday and found the pool. So she demanded now he'd let her swim and play ball with her. But he had no ball. So it was decided they would get to the piano again and he would go and get her bathing suit and a ball tomorrow. This time though he didn't just start playing but showed her how to press some keys for a counter tune and played along with her. It was great fun. After a while, she tried to variate the tune he had showed her with mixed results. Then he showed her even more interesting combinations and in the end, they giggled and laughed playing weird stuff and a song he called 'black cat boogie'. She could not really believe that really was a song.

She then started to ask all kinds of songs from him to hear him sing again. It seemed as if he knew every single song ever played on earth, even the silly children's songs. Together they sang 'itsy bitsy spider' and 'let it go'. Trixie had no idea how magical they sounded together. Her sweet, clear children's voice sounded so lovely in contrast to his rich and deep baritone.

"I wish I could play like you." She said after a while sighing deeply. "This is so much fun."

"Well, you could if you learned." He said thoughtlessly. She jumped up and embraced him, looking up at him with begging eyes. "Will you teach me?" he looked at her with a wary expression. "I've never taught anybody before anything besides fighting." He said. She kept fixating him with what her mom called her bleeding puppy dog eyes till he sighed. "I guess I could try." he gave in. "But not today, I have no sheet music and I guess if I teach you then I should tell you how to read notes too."

She pouted. Learning from paper seemed boring to her. "Why should I learn this if you don't use notes to play?" He looked at her and smiled gently. "Because then you wouldn't be able to play new music you have never heard before. Only those you already know. And if you ever find a melody in yourself, you could not write it down for others to enjoy." He ruffled her hair and went on. "Besides, it is the easiest language there is. You see, when I still was an angel, I invented it myself and later when I visited earth my friend Guido D'Arezzo made it even better when he sang with me. Even if in the end he turned out to be an ungrateful prat who preferred my father over me."

She laughed at that. He always said such funny things.

The week neared its end and Lucifer was shocked at how much he hated the idea. The time with the spawn had been better than expected. She was so innocent and likeable. He never had experienced such harmless and easy-going joy. She never asked stuff from him, she always wanted them to do stuff together. It had been a bit difficult now and then but still enjoyable. He'd never thought hide and seek could be that much fun without being sexy. But somehow she had shown him a side of life he never had a chance to experience before. He had not been born and grown up in common sense. His parents had made him the way he was. He understood now what a privilege it was for humans to grow up this way,to get the chance to experience things in their own way, protected by explaining and caring adults. Helped and lead on how to face their lives. He almost became jealous.

She had asked a lot of sensible and sometimes disturbing questions. It had upset him sometimes, but other times it also had settled him. Tonight was the last night she would stay with him. Tomorrow her mom would come to dinner and get her back home. All of a sudden he felt an urge and took out his phone.

He could dial the number by heart and he didn't have to wait long. "Hello, Lucifer. Did anything happen?"

He huffed, he should have known she would be thinking he just called for an emergency.

"No Love, not at all." he calmed her down. "I was just wondering…"

He drifted off. "What is it, Lucy?" Oh man, he hated it when she used that name and he'd be damned if she didn't know it.

"Well," he stated firmly, "I was wondering how your investigation went. Did everything go fine? I was a little surprised to hear such a thing coming on so long after the incident and I wondered it took so long".

She was quiet for a moment. "You didn't let's say, bend the truth a little, did you?" He inquired.

"I-I," she stammered, "I wouldn't, I mean no, well, maybe I exaggerated a little."

"Hmm, and what would you do that for?" he inquired.

"Well, maybe I was tired and wished some time for myself." She quipped, but with that, she would not get away. Not with him.

"Yes maybe. And what was the real reason though?"

"Uhm let's say, I got the impression you were not as much at ease with my child as I'd like you to be. Especially considering how much she already loves you."

"Is that so?" He smiled gently to himself. "Maybe the idea wasn't that bad. It was a surprisingly nice week. How about we make it a family weekend? You could even bring detective Douche in on it. And if he takes the spawn with him on Saturday evening while you stay with me to make up for it, I promise the punishment for your little lie won't be that bad. Just a little spanking should suffice."

She laughed heartily. "If you think that to be appropriate I'll do as you wish. But usually, it is the liar who gets spanked!" With that, she laughed again and hung up on him. He grinned at the phone. Naughty little thing. She had hidden this side well till they became a thing but now he even loved her more for it. "I'd not bet we both don't get spanked a bit for fun." He grinned and turned around.

He had still a few arrangements to make for the weekend. It was going to be so much fun.

The next day he was waiting at school for Trixie the last time. He felt a bit sad at the prospect of having to give her back again but on the other hand, the tame week had been a strain too. He felt a certain ache growing he could not wait to soothe with the child's mother on Sunday. Thinking of that special day and what he would do made him grin mischievously; so all the more to look forward too. Life was great.

When he saw the spawn coming towards the stairs he jumped several steps at once to greet her. But she looked vary. "Hey little one!" he greeted her. "What's the matter? Where is the entourage today?"

She looked up at him full of uncertainty. "I don't know." She said. "Mrs Heinen is sick so she isn't in school today and Mrs Kempter didn't come to get me." He took her hand and looked around. He knew he was not supposed to leave without the consent proven by the teachers and since he wasn't a parent also could not enter the school without a very good reason. So he was torn. He would rather live without meeting that insufferable Kempter-woman but Chloe had insisted he do everything by the book when it had to do with Trixie's school. After a while, he spotted an elderly lady walking towards the school entrance. In an impromptu decision, he took the hand of his little guest and marched towards the woman.

"Excuse me, Miss?" he called her. He heard a sharp intake of breath at his side but now it was too late. The rather strict looking woman who turned towards him was very impressive. At least in her mid-fifties, if not older, with a tall, pleasantly plump figure and snow-white hair, she was in her own way a well-preserved beauty. A name Tag on her well-starched blouse read 'Amanda McNeill'.

"I wonder if you might help us out." he beamed at her with his most charming smile and poured as much of his natural appeal in it as he could without revealing his true self. He radiated charm and sex appeal and he saw it working, she blushed. "Well that has to be seen," she repeated carefully but still with a little smile, "what do you need Mr…"

"Morningstar, Lucifer Morningstar." He turned his best angelic radiation on as much as he could. She looked first surprised then chuckled quite youthful. "What a name. Not the common thing one would say." She seemed more and more amused by the talk though.

"Well you see, I'm the guardian of this nice young lady here for the week and I was supposed to pick her up from school. I've been told it is customary here that non-family members have to meet with a teacher every day and compare the permission sheet of the parents and personal I.D. but my little guest told me her teacher's ill today and no one else came, you see and there's the problem. I'm not supposed to enter because we're not related and her mom or dad is not with me, but I can't just walk away with her either. What if someone thinks she has been taken? So do you think you could inform somebody about our situation and…"

She laughed quite warmly. "Someone who knows how to play by the rules!" she exclaimed amicably, "who had thought so by that name. Far too few people who know how to play nicely nowadays. Far too many people just think they can do what they want and tend to forget that all actions…"

"…have consequences!" He chimed in and they both laughed. "Rest assured, it is most notably the name and what comes with it that makes sure one never forgets about this fact."

She smiled warmly. Then she looked down on Trixie. "Oh, it's the little Miss Decker here. I've already heard some rumours but… well, I know better than to give too much about rumours. I've never thought much of the grapevine." She smiled warmly at the girl who had been unusually quiet so far. Now she smiled back tentatively. "Hello, Principal Mac Neill" she greeted shyly.

"Well, then why don't you come in with me to my office. I let the secretary pull out the original document from Mrs Decker and you can show me your I.D. and the consent form. I'd be happy to send you on your way afterwards." She smiled in a friendly way.

"That would be splendid." Lucifer beamed back. "Ladies first!" he bowed slightly and held open the door for her. She giggled like a schoolgirl and led the way, though she could barely tear her eyes from him. He winked at Trixie who stared in marvel at her friend who had just charmed the witch of the principal's office.

When they came closer to their destination they could hear a gleeful voice coming from the half-open door out of the school office. It was Mrs Kempter's voice.

"…and then she called in sick and I just was a little late." They could hear her loud and clear. "Then all of a sudden the girl is gone, he just took her away!"

"Did you see him take her?" another voice replied. "Of course! I don't understand how this woman can let her daughter be taken by such a scoundrel. She always behaves so untouchably but this…"

Silently Mrs Mc Neal had signed the girl to sit down on the bench in front of the office and Lucifer to stand aside, she was trembling with anger. Her face looked so furious that even the devil stood back. Even before the woman inside could finish her sentence she barged in.

"What do I hear there?" she barked out. "A child has been taken? By whom? When? How could you let this happen?" She marched in their midst so fast both women turned after her without noticing the tall man slipping inside and closing the door. Lucifer was impressed. He'd never seen a person taking a room so completely. He saw the gleeful expression on Mrs Kempter's face from the side when she turned her back on him. "It was that person I already complained about. He just took the little Decker without showing his form! It was a very questionable choice from the beginning. I told you what I found when researching him."

"Oh, you mean Mr Morningstar?" Mrs Mc Neal asked. "Did he not wait for you? You say he just left with the child and you saw it?"

"Yes, he did. I…"

"You should be sure about what you say. You know how much I hate a lie." the Principal interrupted her.

"It's not a…"

"Oh, I am pretty sure it is." Lucifer interrupted her and stepped forward. We waited for you outside after Trixie could not find you but you didn't appear. Luckily-" with that, he bowed to the woman in the centre of attention who smiled back at him. "Mrs Mc Neill was so kind to help us out."

"Well I guess it is time to get that done, the child should be on the way to her well deserved weekend!" The Principal remarked. "Mrs Kempter you will wait in my office." The temperature dropped considerably when she looked at the woman who almost fled into the smaller room.

The rest of the ordeal was easily processed and soon Lucifer and Trixie were on their way.

She was delighted to hear of the surprise weekend sleepover he and her parents had planned for all of them. Lucifer felt an unusual warmth at the prospect besides all the domesticity it promised.

They had almost reached Lux when all of a sudden Trixie inquired:

"You said you never lie."

Lucifer looked curiously at her. "Yes," he stated, "I hate lies."

"Sooo," she started just to think again for a while, "you are really Lucifer?"

They had just reached the garage and he could turn around and face her. She looked at him pondering. He could not betray who he was, he could not lie about himself.

"Yes, I am." He stated calmly.

"Does mommy know?" She asked again.

"Yes she does and your Dad too."

She beamed up at him.

"Well then," she said, "what will we have for dinner?"

Friday evening, the club was packed. Dozens of wild partygoers were partying. In the middle of the club was a cluster of Britney's dancing. But this night as the whole week the elevator stayed closed. The bouncer let no one even close. Everyone wondered what the 'private party' above might entail and the fantasies ran hot.

Above the wild dancing, the loft lay in blissful peace. The outstanding soundproofing of the floor and the walls let no sound in or out. A strange family was the only disturbance. Their laughter and joy filled the rooms with a warmth their host had never known before. They had gathered in the main room. Endless supplies of pillows, blankets and draperies were scattered around the low living room table laden with snacks the owner had prepared himself. In the background, the TV ran with a forgotten Disney movie while the little party amused themselves with funny banter. Trixie just had told her parents how Lucifer had never played a simple ball game in his pool and wondered what one would do with such a location if not playing in it.

"And do you know what I just found out today?" Trixie exclaimed happily. "My Principal is just like the devil!" After that, the whole ordeal had to be told and Chloe decided that Monday would be the perfect day to make an appointment at the school.

Amongst the happy mockery and storytelling of all kinds sat the devil himself.

He felt so warm and happy. After a while, the party became quieter when they huddled together in front of the TV, the tired child in their midst. It had been planned to let the child fall asleep and then get her to bed. But true to the word about best-laid plans the moon wandered above and its light shone on four sleeping bodies cuddled together under a blanket fort.

When Dan woke up the next morning he had a déjà vu. It was warm and soft and he was surrounded by feathers.

Oh no. Not again. When he peeked around his worst fear was not only true but even worse than he'd thought possible. He lay with the devil not at his side, but at the side of his ex-wife. His enormous wing was spread over all of them, their daughter in the middle. If just Trixie would sleep in for a change…

But a look to his side showed him it was already too late. She was wide awake, gently stroking the glowing white feathers fanning above her with nothing but wonder in her eyes. But maybe it was not too late to stop what she was doing before…

"Hrmmmmmmmmmmmm!" He felt the wing press down a little. Cradling them all. Lucifer was waking up whileleaning into his daughter's touch.

"Hey, little one." A sleepy voice rose from the mass of people, pillows, blankets and now also wings. "I would like you to know that I can feel that."

Dan groaned. This was going to be difficult. "Lucifer!" He moaned, "What have you done? We had agreed…"

"It's not like I did it intentionally," came the murmured interruption. Chloe was sleeping through it all and his daughter still simply stroked the soft plumage. Great.

Suddenly Lucifer took back his wing and got up. "Well if we're awake…" Trixie sat up like a Jack-in-the-box and beamed at the sight of the angel. "Lucifer!" She exclaimed, "You look so pretty like that!"

With awe, Dan saw the Devil blush. "Ahm, thank you little Decker," he replied, "lets order Breakfast." Trixie jumped up which prompted his ex-wife to protest half-awake while she buried deeper in her own nest of blankets. Dan sat there watching his daughter duck under the outstretched wing to get at the man's side. "Oh no, I thought you could make us banana pancakes." She insisted. The other sighed and let his wings vanish before they could graze the piano. His daughter only paid that a passing glance. She was too invested in the thought of losing the last opportunity to get her favourite breakfast.

"I can order us such, my chef is fantastic. He makes them just as good as…" he tried.

"Nooooooo!" his daughter interrupted laughing. "That's impossible! I want yours! And eggs! And bacon for dad! And those thin pancakes with chocolate and orange…" her voice faded while she dragged the celestial being towards the kitchen. She was completely unimpressed with the revelation of the morning. Her priorities were set.

Dan blinked a bit sheepishly. Was this a dream? Had this really just happened? Had his daughter just learned that her friend was a supernatural being and chosen the most important thing was to get him to make pancakes? He let himself fall back and closed his eyes. Soon the tantalizing smell of homemade breakfast and coffee filled the loft. Chloe lifted her head sleepily. "Do I smell coffee?"

Dan gave up. It seemed he had just to accept that his life had gone crazy.

Notes:

The text of the song Lucifer is playing comes from John Legend -All of Me


End file.
